Chariot Oil & Gas Investments has secured a 75% interest and operatorship of the Mohammedia Offshore Exploration Permits I-III (Mohammedia) in Morocco.
Located adjacent to Chariot’s Rabat Deep Offshore Exploration Permits, the Mohammedia permits are nearshore and include an area of nearly 4,600km² with water depths less than 500m.
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Chariot Oil & Gas CEO Larry Bottomley said: "Chariot is pleased to be able to convert the Mohammedia Reconnaissance licence into exploration permits as a result of the technical de-risking gained from our 2014 3D seismic campaign in Morocco.
"The company intends to mature the prospectivity in the Mohammedia permits through the acquisition of additional seismic programmes. We also have the potential to realise additional de-risking of the petroleum system from the drilling of the JP-1 prospect in the neighbouring Rabat Deep permits.
"Chariot has previously announced partnering on Rabat Deep in which the company will retain 10% equity for a carry in JP-1 to a cap in excess of expected well cost, which we anticipate to occur in 2017."
In 2014, Chariot acquired around 375km² of 3D seismic data in the precursor Mohammedia Reconnaissance licence, which the company identified prospects for in the Eo-Oligocene (EOP-1and 2), lower Cretaceous (LKP-1a,1b,2a, and 2b) and Jurassic (JP-2).
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By GlobalDataThe Eo-Oligocene, lower Cretaceous and Jurassic contain gross mean prospective resources for individual prospects ranging from 50 million to 289 million barrels as audited by Netherland Sewell and Associates.
The Jurassic carbonate appears to act as a structural control on the overlying early Cretaceous shelf margin with the LKP prospects resulting from the deposition of interpreted shallow-water deltaic clastics.
Chariot aims to acquire 250km² of 3D seismic data, from where the LKP prospects extend outside the existing information.
Currently, a majority of the Mohammedia area has little seismic coverage.
Chariot will also acquire a minimum of 2,000km of 2D seismic over the rest of the licence to recognise the nature and extent of the play systems in this underexplored region.
Both the 2D and 3D seismic programmes are scheduled to be acquired next year.
