Chariot eyes subsea-to-shore development for Anchois gas field (Morocco)

London-listed oil and gas exploration firm Chariot has said the offshore Morocco Anchois gas field development is technically feasible and is eyeing a subsea-to-shore solution to bring the field online.

Chariot, which acquired a stake in the Lixus offshore license containing the Anchois in April, said on Tuesday that the field was “technically feasible, with the potential for either a single phase or a staged development to commercially optimize access to different parts of the gas market.”

Development options include a “subsea-to-shore” concept, Chariot said.

“This concept consists of subsea production wells tied to a subsea manifold, from which a subsea flowline and umbilical connect the field to an onshore Central Processing Facility (“CPF”), where gas is processed and then delivered into the Maghreb-Europe Gas pipeline (“GME”) via an onshore gas flowline,” Chariot said.

In its update, Chariot said there was potential to re-enter the suspended Anchois-1 gas discovery well, which may be completed as a producer well.

As for the potential gas sales, Chariot said that Morocco had a growing energy market “with attractive gas prices that underpin a commercially attractive project.”

Chariot has initiated an Environmental Impact Assessment to facilitate appraisal operations in 2020.

Chariot CEO Larry Bottomley, commented: “The results of these studies demonstrate the technical feasibility and commercial attractiveness of developing the Anchois gas discovery with the potential to offer a strategically important indigenous source of gas into Morocco’s developing energy market.

“We believe the combination of a de-risked resource base in a fast-growing energy market, with high gas prices and a need for increased supply, remains highly attractive to a wide range of potential strategic partners throughout the energy value chain. As part of the partnering process and to facilitate appraisal operations in 2020, the company has initiated a Drilling Environmental Impact Assessment.”

The Anchois-1 well was drilled in 2009 in 388m water depth some 40km from the coast and encountered an estimated net gas pay of 55m in two sands with average porosities ranging from 25% to 28%.

The Anchois discovery is in Tertiary-aged turbidite reservoirs that occur above a nappe emplaced during the Alpine orogeny and the pay sands have a characteristic and anomalous seismic signature. Chariot in April said it had identified five satellite prospects to Anchois that have tie-back potential

Chariot in May reported that the CPR by Netherland Sewell & Associates Inc. (“NSAI”) over the satellite prospects adjacent to the Anchois-1 gas discovery in the Lixus Offshore Licence upgraded remaining recoverable resources to in excess of 1 Tcf of gas ( (comprising 2C contingent resources and 2U prospective resources)

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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