Chariot Oil announces finished pipeline and drilling of three new wells in Larache's Anchois field

British Chariot company revealed positive developments of the Anchois gas field project, located off the city of Larache north of Morocco.

After the feeding process was complete, the company reports it has started drilling three new wells under the sea.

Post-well analysis has confirmed excellent and consistent gas, and has provided a significant resource increase and risk reduction for a number of high-potential future targets. The Rissana Offshore license was also awarded.

A statement by the British company indicated that “the new operation comes in cooperation with two additional companies, with the aim of completing a multi-region in order to enable the recovery of gas through the accumulated sands.”

The construction of the three wells, according to the same source, will be accompanied by the establishment of an infrastructure for the subsea production system, in order to control the production of hydrocarbons ready for delivery from sea to land.

In addition, a new land pipeline will be laid to transport the gas to international contractors, and then deliver it to local users via sea vessels from the Mediterranean.

Commenting on its results for 2022, the British company points out that among the “main highlights throughout 2022” of the Chariot Group’s business, are those relating to its projects in Morocco.

As Chariot announced major gas discovery and drilling operations have been successfully completed on the Anchois Gas Development project in the Kingdom, the company adds that initial engineering design was also launched on Anchois alongside Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) in June 2022, and was completed after the end of the period.

“Thanks to the identification of the O sand reservoir targets at Anchois, this step can already be envisaged through simple, cost-effective exploration activities (well deepening and pilot holes) combined with the development drilling campaign, to evaluate the 754 billion cubic feet (approx. 21.35 billion cubic meters) of best estimate 2U gas resources still to be found on the field”, the same source states.

The production wells will be complemented by an associated SPS (Subsea Production System) infrastructure that will monitor and collect the hydrocarbons produced by the wells, and transport them to onshore facilities. Hydrocarbons produced by the wells will be routed to the onshore facilities via a subsea pipeline.

Onshore, the Central Processing Facility (CPF) will process the hydrocarbons to deliver processed gas and condensate to market.

Following the increase in the field’s resources, the initial capacity has been increased from 70 mmscfd to 105 mmscfd (gas unit of measure). Preliminary design studies have been completed for the facility, and operating and maintenance proposals for the first few years of operation after gas commissioning have been provided, “which will enable a smooth transition from construction to commissioning and normal operation, giving priority to Moroccans in terms of operating personnel”, says Chariot.

The British company also announced that an onshore pipeline will be built from the CPF to connect to the GME at the M21 valve station. This pipeline is directly connected to the anchor gas suppliers, with a connection agreement already in place and negotiations for gas transportation and ancillary agreements underway.

Subject to financing, the next technical steps in the development of the Anchois field will be the award of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the various components of the project, and some commercial proposals have already been requested, the same source points out.

He adds: “The application for an operating concession from the Moroccan government is also under discussion, which would give the company the rights to market the gas for an initial period of 25 years, extendable by a further 10 years”.

This concession application is further supported by the Field Development Plan (FDP), which is in the final stages of discussion within the Lixus Offshore joint venture.