Chariot Ltd (AIM:CHAR, OTC:OIGLF) has told investors that it has been formally awarded the Rissana offshore licence, in Morocco, which is an area that surrounds the offshore area of Chariot's Lixus licence, host to the Anchois gas field.
The company, in a statement, said that the award of acreage provides ‘material additional potential running room’ on-trend from Anchois.
"We are delighted to have been formally awarded the Rissana licence,” said Adonis Pouroulis, Chariot’s acting chief executive.
“As we demonstrated with our recent successful drilling campaign at Anchois, this is a highly prospective basin and, along with the Lixus Offshore Licence, the award of Rissana ensures that we have captured the exploration upsides in this exciting play.
“In parallel with the development plans on the Anchois gas field, we aim to maximise value from the exploration upsides in what we believe is a low risk and high-value opportunity."
Amina Benkhadra, general director of Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), meanwhile, commented: “ONHYM and Chariot recently conducted a highly successful drilling campaign in Morocco and we hope that we will be able to have similar success on Rissana."
Chariot will own a 75% interest in the Rissana asset, with ONHYM retaining 25%.
The minimum licence commitment for the licence will be the completion of 2D seismic data acquisition, which will be designed to evaluate the extension and potential of these gas plays present in the licence area.