Drilling ops in Morroco still ongoing but gas volumes so far seem below pre-drill estimates

London-based oil and gas player Energean is continuing to drill an appraisal well at its gas field in the Lixus license located 40 km off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean.

Energean enlarged its footprint in the Mediterranean region in April 2024 with a new country entry, enabled by partnership agreements with Chariot to take over the operator role at two Moroccan offshore licenses, covering the Lixus offshore license (Lixus), where the Anchois gas development project is located, and the Rissana offshore license (Rissana).

Afterward, Stena Drilling was hired on a one-well firm assignment at the Anchois gas field with the flexibility to drill an additional option well in Morocco. Energean (45% stake, operator), alongside its partners Chariot (30%) and ONHYM (25%), started drilling the Anchois-3 appraisal well using the Stena Forth drillship in August 2024.

The primary objective of the initial pilot hole was to evaluate the upside exploration potential of reservoirs in the Anchois Footwall prospect with a 2U prospective resource estimate of 170 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the main O Sand target. Since the reservoirs were found but interpreted to be water-bearing, the hole was plugged and abandoned before sidetracking and moving to drill the main hole.

According to Chariot, the preliminary interpretation indicates the presence of gas-bearing reservoirs in the B sands, which is an appraisal objective of the well, thus, further detailed work will be needed to understand the impact of these results.

Previously, Energean anticipated significant upside potential and value from the prospective resources in the pilot hole and main hole targets, which were estimated to have the potential to increase the resource base to over 1 trillion cubic feet (tcf,) fueling the firm’s hopes of moving toward a final investment decision (FID) quickly.

While the drilling operations are still underway to evaluate deeper appraisal and exploration objectives, the London-listed player explains that the preliminary analysis indicates volumes found in the well are lower than pre-drill estimates. As a result, the firm is now focusing on completing the Anchois-3 drilling activities and ongoing technical evaluation.

Energean is also working on its projects offshore Israel, as confirmed by the FID for the Katlan development project, with a capital expenditure expected to be approximately $1.2 billion. The Katlan area will be developed in a phased approach through a subsea tie-back to the existing FPSO Energean Power, which currently serves the Karish and Karish North developments.

The first gas production is expected in the first half of 2027. Energean highlights the growing concerns of further escalations in the Middle East, which have intensified the security risk in the region, as essential infrastructure systems, such as the FPSO Energean Power, may be targets for missile fire and sabotage operations.

“While the Karish field has continued to produce in line with guidance and with no disruption to its production since the start of the conflict, any event that impacts production from this field could have a material adverse impact on the business, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and prospects of the Group,” underlined the London-listed player.