Given its belief in the assets’ gas potential, Africa-focused energy company Chariot has retaken the operator role at two Moroccan offshore licenses from London-based oil and gas player Energean.
Following partnership agreements signed in 2023 for the Lixus offshore license (Lixus), encapsulating the Anchois gas field, and the Rissana offshore license (Rissana) in Morocco, Energean got a 45% interest in the first license and a 37.5% stake in the second one and took over the operatorship of both.
Afterward, Chariot was left with a 30% and 37.5% interest in Lixus and Rissana, respectively, with ONHYM maintaining a 25% stake in each license. However, the Africa-focused player has now regained the operatorship of both licenses by completing the transfer of Energean’s wholly owned subsidiary, which holds stakes in these offshore licenses.
As a result, Chariot is once again the operator with a 75% working interest in each license, while ONHYM retained its 25% stake. Three wells have been drilled at the Anchois gas field in the Lixus offshore license. The last one was drilled with Stena Drilling’s Stena Forth drillship.
Adonis Pouroulis , CEO of Chariot, commented: “We are pleased to have completed the transfer of these licences and regained operatorship as we see material value within our diversified Moroccan position, both offshore and onshore.”
The Anchois-3 well was completed in September 2024 , and even though this well did not deliver the additional volumes required to enable an expansion of the initially planned Anchois development, the new operator claims that multiple good-quality gas-bearing reservoirs were found in the main B sand appraisal interval.
As the company remains committed to progressing the license work programs, it will collaborate with ONHYM to assess and adapt the Anchois development plan based on discovered resources. In addition, Chariot has emphasized its intention to keep evaluating the additional potential of the wider Lixus and Rissana license areas.
Pouroulis underlined: “The Anchois gas discovery still offers the potential for a rescaled development and our next steps are to scope this based on the core resources found in the three wells underpinned by our previous work on engineering design, environmental and regulatory approvals, project financing and gas sales.
“Gas market fundamentals in Morocco are robust with strong gas demand and excellent fiscal terms and we will look to work with all stakeholders, including our partner ONHYM and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development to advance these important domestic projects.”