Chariot Ltd (AIM:CHAR, OTC:OIGLF) reported the signing of a petroleum agreement for a new exploration licence onshore Morocco, which it said was a "natural fit" with its existing acreage in the country and has the potential to deliver early gas sales.
The company will have a 75% interest in the 1,371 sq km Loukos Onshore licence, where it will be the operator, under a partnership agreed with Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), which will hold the remaining 25%.
Loukos is adjacent to Chariot's Lixus and Rissana offshore licences, with the former containing the significant Anchois gas discovery and development project, with 3D seismic data indicating geological similarities.
The surveys also indicate "multiple low risk gas prospects", with gas and reservoir proven by previously drilled wells which targeted deeper different prospects.
Chariot, which said it has identified priority drilling targets and that drill rigs are available in the country, sees potential to deliver early gas sales "due to the proximity to a significant and undersupplied industrial gas market, with further potential development synergies through the location of the planned Anchois processing facility and pipelines being situated on-block".
Commitments under the licence comprise re-processing existing 2D and 3D seismic data and desktop studies.
Duncan Wallace, Chariot's 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."
Based on the 3D seismic data, a range of targets have been graded, he said, "and further to our recent fundraise we plan to drill near-term to look to accelerate the supply of gas directly to domestic industries through various routes, including leveraging our new partnership with Vivo Energy".