That Morocco is an oil producer is not widely known but there has been oil production in Morocco since the 1920s and recent changes in the law have made Morocco a very attractive cuntry for oil and gas exploration. This is now firmly in the sights of the government. According to the Canadian company Stratic Energy, the American company, Heyco is to start drilling in the 3rd quarter of 2006 in the concessions of Moulay Bousselham and Maamora, north-west Morocco.
Stratic Energy estimates the drilling could cost USD 1.3Mn and was quoted in the bimonthly "Le Pétrole et le gaz arabes" of the "Centre arabe d'études pétrolières" [Arab Centre for Petroleum Studies] .
Stratic acquired a 36% working interest in two concessions located onshore Morocco. Existing seismic shows both concessions contain shallow gas anomalies and highly prospective deeper oil accumulations.
In June 2005, Stratic announced that it was awarded a reconnaissance license together with TransAtlantic Petroleum Corp. as operator. Stratic will have a 40% interest in this license, in the Guercif-Beni Znassen area of north-east Morocco.
The Moulay Bousselham and Mamora concessions encompass 4,000 sq. km and contain a proven hydrocarbon fairway. The initial term on the concessions is three years, with options for extensions.
Existing seismic suggests the presence of both shallow Tertiary oil and gas and deeper Mesozoic oil targets. A number of shallow gas anomalies have been identified, but the potentially large accumulations of Mesozoic oil are of greater interest. Infrastructure includes a railway, gas pipelines and a refinery, all located on or immediately adjacent to the Company's blocks.
Stratic Energy Corporation is an international exploration and development company with four areas of interest. The Company expects to invest approximately $28 million in its asset portfolio throughout calendar year 2006. It has offices in Canada (Calgary), the United Kingdom (London) and Syria (Damascus).
HEYCO International was formed to capture value from international exploration and has been involved in upstream oil and gas activities in Europe for over a decade. Through various joint ventures, the company has drilled exploratory onshore wells in the United Kingdom and Spain, and recently acquired two onshore exploration permits equal to one million acres in Morocco.
HEYCO Maroc, a Moroccan subsidiary of HEYCO International, is the operator of the Moroccan permits.
Tags: Morocco, Fes, Maghreb, news
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