Gas Exploration: UK Chariot Company Gets New Moroccan Onshore Licence

UK Chariot Energy Company announced on Monday that it has signed a Petroleum Agreement for a new exploration licence, Loukos Onshore, located onshore Morocco.
Under the agreement, Chariot holds 75 % interest in, and operatorship of the Loukos licence sealed in partnership with the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons & Mines (ONHYM) which will hold a 25% interest.

Loukos covers an approximate area of 1,371 km2 and is adjacent to Chariot’s Lixus and Rissana offshore licences, with the former containing the significant Anchois gas discovery and development project.

Commenting the deal, Mrs. Amina Benkhadra, ONHYM Chief, said: “We are pleased to have signed this Petroleum Agreement with Chariot. They have a substantial understanding and knowledge of this basin from their extensive exploration in the area and we look forward to their ongoing work and progress with a view to accelerating the supply of gas to the Moroccan markets.”

For his Duncan Wallace, Chariot Technical Director, said: “this onshore licence is a natural fit with our existing acreage in Morocco. Loukos has significant read through from the prospectivity we see offshore, with a common geological setting extending from our Lixus licence and the onshore operating environment offering a significantly lower cost development and an attractively priced domestic industrial market ready to serve”.

The Company has already highgraded a range of targets on the 3D seismic data set, and further to its recent fundraise, Chariot is planning to drill near-term to accelerate the supply of gas directly to local Moroccan domestic industries through various routes, including leveraging its new partnership with Vivo Energy.

Chariot is focusing on a high value, low risk gas development project offshore Morocco in a fast-growing emerging economy with a clear route to early monetisation, delivery of free cashflow and material exploration upside.