Sound Completes Moroccan 2D, Plans Next Well

Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, has completed its 2,850 line km 2-D seismic acquisition programme in eastern Morocco, it said August 21. It has also finalised the specific location of the TE-10 exploration well, which will target the northeast Lakbir prospect and is expected to spud immediately after the drilling of TE-9, in the Tendrara licence.  

TE-10 will target a high impact Tagi structural-stratigraphic play with between 1.2 trillion ft³ and 5 trillion ft³ gas originally in place. Sound will drill both the Tagi and the underlying Palaeozoic.

The seismic results, and basin modelling, suggest that "the gas charge originates from a carbonate rich marine source rocks, interpreted as of Devonian age in a kitchen area in the central and southern region of the combined Tendrara-Lakbir, Matarka and Anoual permits," it said.

The new seismic has also now revealed, in addition to the existing structures targeted by the planned wells, a new large Palaeozoic structure to the northwest of the structural-stratigraphic play which could be the largest prospect within the entire basin. Sound will include this opportunity as another candidate for the planned third exploration well (TE-11), alongside the significant Palaeozoic oil play in the Anoual licence, it said.

The permit area is 120 km from Gazoduc Maghreb Europe pipeline, connecting Algeria and Morocco to the Spanish/Portuguese gas grids, with a combined area of 14,500 km². Sound's Tendrara campaign has so far proved successful; so much so that oilfield services company Schlumberger, its technical partner, became an equity partner last month.