The Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), Amina Benkhadra, indicated, Wednesday in Rabat, that 67 wells were drilled in Morocco during the period 2000-2022, of which 40 revealed the presence quantities of natural gas.
Speaking before the Infrastructure, Energy, Mines and Environment Committee in the House of Representatives, Benkhadra clarified that these discoveries, although small in size, are economically profitable due to the availability of a network. gas pipelines on site and a local market represented by several industrial units.
The DG of ONHYM has, in this regard, noted the existence of 11 companies operating in the field of hydrocarbon exploration in Morocco, specifying that these proceed, by virtue of the agreements concluded with the Office and according to a multi-stage schedule, to the mapping and interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic data to assess the hydrocarbon potential in the areas where they operate, then to the drilling of exploration wells in the event that the assessment studies show encouraging signs.
With regard to the results of explorations, Amina Benkhadra indicated that the company “Repsol” discovered quantities of gas off the coast of Larache and which were confirmed by the well carried out by Chariot Oil between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. .
As for the Essaouira onshore region, she added, this basin has produced, since the 1980s, quantities of gas and condensates from the Triassic layers, and oil from the Jurassic layers since the 1970s, in addition to the production of gas from the exploitation license of the Meskala deposit. Recent drilling results have also revealed the presence of Triassic and Jurassic deposits which will be confirmed by further studies, she said.
The Director General of ONHYM also indicated that the Tendrara basin saw the drilling of five wells by the Office and its partners “Sound Energy” and “Schlumberger” between 2016 and 2019, two of which showed the presence of gas. nature, explaining in this regard that an “exploitation contract” has been concluded for the development of the area and its authorization for production.
Regarding the offshore area of Tarfaya Agadir, the official announced the drilling of 7 wells, including three in shallow waters, among which two revealed the presence of heavy and light oil at the level of the offshore areas of Tarfaya and ‘Ifni, while 4 wells were drilled in deep waters, 3 of which revealed oil and gas indications.
At the Boujdour offshore zone, which covers 200,000 square kilometers, Benkhadra reported the drilling, at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015, of a well by the two partners of the Office, “Kosmos” and “Capricorn ”, which revealed the discovery of gas and condensates that proved to be economically unusable.
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