Chariot Adds to Moroccan Acreage

Chariot Oil & Gas has picked up more acreage in Morocco. The company entered into a petroleum agreement with the government for a 75% stake and operatorship of the offshore Rabat Deep License.

The Rabat Deep is located adjacent to acreage Chariot recently acquired, the Loukos and Casablanca/Safi licenses. The latest license acquisition gives Chariot an aggregate acreage position of 16,207 sq km offshore Morocco.

The agreement remains subject to approval from the authorities and once complete, Chariot will be partnered with ONHYM, who will hold a 25% carried interest.

Under the agreement Chariot is required to reprocess existing 2D seismic datasets and then carry out a 1,000 km 2D seismic survey. Once the results of the initial work program have been received, Chariot may elect to move forward into subsequent phases of the agreement which would involve the acquisition of 3D seismic data and, following this, the undertaking of exploration drilling.

Paul Welch, CEO of Chariot, commented: “Morocco is a very desirable location for oil and gas exploration and we are very pleased to have acquired this additional acreage which is positioned to complement and balance our existing assets in this region. We now have a significant holding in this highly prospective province and we look forward to developing its potential. With these assets, alongside our licenses in Namibia and Mauritania, we have expanded and secured a very promising portfolio of opportunities offshore West Africa.”