Sound Energy moving rig to Sidi Moktar

Africa and Europe-focussed upstream gas company Sound Energy announces the mobilisation of a rig to its Sidi Moktar asset, onshore Morocco on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the Sidi Moktar licences covered 2,700 square kilometres in the Essaouira basin, central Morocco and contained an existing gas discovery in the Lower Liassic - Kechoula - and significant deeper potential.

Sidi Moktar was reportedly close to existing infrastructure, including the large scale Moroccan state-owned OCP Phosphate plant.

Two wells had already been drilled at Kechoula by previous operators and had been estimated to have an unrisked mid-case original gas in place of 293 billions of standard cubic feet gross.

As previously announced by the company, the Sidi Moktar licences were also estimated - similar to the company's Eastern Morocco positions - to have significant pre-Jurassic exploration potential from the TAGI and Paleozoic in excess of 1 trillion cubic feet cf unrisked gross gas originally in place.

Sound Energy noted the quantitative assessment prepared by a previous operator in 1998 which referred to exploration potential of the Sidi Moktar licences of up to 9 tcf unrisked GOIP gross in the TAGI and Paleozoic.

It said it would require the reprocessing of existing 2D seismic, acquisition of new 2D seismic and drilling results before forming its own volume estimates for the exploration potential of the Sidi Moktar licences.

As part of the work, Sound confirmed that the SAIPEM rig used to drill the company's most recent Tendrara well - TE-8 - had now been mobilised to Sidi Moktar.

The rig would, upon arrival in May, execute the re-entering and testing of the two existing wells on the Kechoula discovery which, subject to initial well results, may include a sidetrack and an extended well test thereafter.

Given the company's reportedly strong financial position, the board said it decided not to proceed with the previously-announced proposed farm out of Sidi Moktar, and to instead retain its 75% operated position in the licences.

Once the workovers, and any sidetrack and extended well tests were complete, the company intended to renew the Sidi Moktar licences - which currently expire on 28 August - thereby starting a new eight year period.

The first activity following the renewal of the Sidi Moktar licences would be 2D seismic reprocessing and the acquisition of new 2D seismic, scheduled for 2018, after which the deeper pre-salt horizons could be drilled.

“We are hugely excited about Sidi Moktar with the opportunity to demonstrate a commercial gas discovery, with potential near term production and significant deeper exploration potential in the pre-salt,” said Sound Energy chief executive James Parsons.

“Our financial strength enables us to avoid asset dilution therefore retaining a greater exposure to the very material deeper upside.

“Once the rig has finished at Sidi Moktar we expect it to return to Tendrara to continue our unlocking of the recently proven transformational Eastern Morocco TAGI and Paleozoic plays.”