Chariot Oil & Gas Investments Morocco has been granted a 75% interest and operatorship of the Mohammedia Offshore Exploration Permits I - III, in collaboration with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).

Situated in the nearshore and encompasses an area of about 4,600km² with water depths below 500m, the Mohammedia permits are close to the Company's Rabat Deep Offshore Exploration Permits.The area includes several proven and potential play systems.

Chariot had obtained about 375km² of 3D seismic data in 2014 in the Mohammedia Reconnaissance licence from which it discovered prospects with gross mean prospective resources for individual prospects ranging from 50 million bbls to 289 million bbls.Both the Eo-Oligocene and Lower Cretaceous prospects identified in the area have seismic qualities that could be hydrocarbons. Chariot has commitments of 250km² of 3D seismic data.The Company has also committed to secure a least possible 2000km of 2D seismic over the remaining parts of the licence to point out the nature and extent of the play systems in this underexplored region. Both of the 2D and 3D seismic programmes are expected to be procured in 2017.

“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,” Larry Bottomley (photo), CEO of Chariot, told Energy-pedia.

Anita Fatunji