Project Profile
Value: US$2.5 million
Location: north of Rharb Sud permit, boundaries of the Fes Block, onshore northern Morocco
Area: 2,850 square kilometres
Unaudited Gross Recoverable Prospective Resources: 149 million barrels
Start-up Year: 2017
Gulfsands Petroleum plc has finalised agreements with Morocco\'s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) for the acquisition of the newly created Moulay Bouchta permit (Moulay Bouchta). Gulfsands will operate the permit with a 75% participating interest while ONHYM will retain a 25% participating interest, the attributable cost of which will be carried by Gulfsands upon the usual terms for such participation, through the exploration phase of the permit. The Moulay Bouchta permit encompasses an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometres and is located to the north of the Company\'s Rharb Sud permit and extends eastwards to surround the western, northern and eastern boundaries of the Fes Block onshore in northern Morocco. This area is considered to include the key remaining prospective acreage in an area where the existence of a working petroleum system has been confirmed with the discovery and development of three oil fields, the most recent of which was the Haricha Field which had produced a total of 2.8 million barrels of oil and 4.2 BcF of gas when production ceased in 1990.
The three legacy light oil fields are known to have produced oil from shallow reservoirs down to approximately 1200 metres while it is the Company\'s intention to evaluate the potential for deeper and potentially larger structures containing Jurassic and Cretaceous aged reservoirs similar to targets identified on the adjacent Fes permit. A portion of the permit area has already been the subject of a 175 square kilometre 3D seismic survey and these data together with legacy 2D seismic data over other portions of the licence area will be supplemented by regional seismic data previously acquired by the Company. It is anticipated that in addition to the reprocessing and interpretation of legacy 2D and 3D seismic data, an additional 500 kilometres of 2D seismic data will be captured in a survey to be carried out during the first two year exploration period. The Company will also undertake a legacy oil field reactivation study during this first exploration period as part of a minimum exploration work programme expected to cost approximately US$2.5 million.
Operators:
Gulfsands Petroleum plc: Operator with 75% interest
Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM): 25% interest