Energean, a London-listed company, has finalized a deal with Chariot Energy to acquire a stake and take over operatorship of the Anchois gas discovery, the only commercial hydrocarbon discovery made offshore Morocco.
This agreement reignites plans to develop Anchois with a subsea tieback to an onshore processing plant. However, before moving forward, the partners need to drill and test a critical appraisal well.
To achieve this, the companies signed a contract with Stena, a UK-based company, to utilize their drillship Stena Forth for drilling the Anchois East appraisal well in the third quarter of 2024. This campaign will include a vital drill stem test on the main gas-bearing reservoirs and target undrilled prospective areas, with the goal of boosting the discovery’s reserves to about 1 trillion cubic feet.
‘We are very pleased to have received formal approval from the Moroccan authorities for the transaction, for Energean to officially be our partner on the Lixus and Rissana licences and to have the rig contract signed for the Stena Forth. Our teams have been working closely together on well planning to deliver the expedited commencement of this campaign in Q3 2024 and further updates on this will be provided in due course. I would like to thank ONHYM, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Finance for their ongoing support in securing the approvals as we look to progress the Anchois project and its surrounding acreage,3 said Adonis Pouroulis, CEO of Chariot.
Energean acquiring operatorship follows the Moroccan authorities granting all the necessary approvals.
The deal involves Energean paying $10 million to Chariot to farm-in to two licenses.
Energean now holds a 45% stake in the Lixus license, which contains Anchois, with Chariot retaining 30% and state-owned ONHYM holding the remaining 25%.
In the adjacent Rissana license, Energean and Chariot will each hold 37.5% interests, with ONHYM again on 25%.
This project is expected to significantly enhance Morocco’s domestic gas production, potentially enabling exports for any surplus supply.
It is also anticipated to contribute to Morocco’s energy security and long-term reduction in coal reliance.
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