Chariot, Energean complete partnership deal for Morocco gas projects
Chariot, a UK-based company, confirmed on April 10 that it had received all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals in Morocco for its partnership agreements with Energean. The partnership was announced in December 2023 and aims to develop two gas projects offshore Morocco.
Under the agreement, Energean will serve as the operator and acquire stakes in both licenses. Specifically, Energean will hold a 45% interest in the Lixus license, which encompasses the Anchois gas development, and a 37.5% interest in the Rissana license. Meanwhile, Chariot will retain 30% and 37.5% of the respective interests in the Lixus and Rissana licenses, with ONHYM maintaining a 25% stake in each.
Chariot has received an upfront cash consideration of $10mn from Energean and is set to receive an additional $15mn payment upon the final investment decision (FID). Furthermore, Chariot will benefit from an $85mn gross carry for all Lixus costs up to FID.
In addition to these agreements, Chariot has signed a rig contract with Stena Drilling for the use of its Stena Forth drill ship. This rig will be utilised for the Anchois-East appraisal and development well, as well as an optional well within the Lixus license area.
The drilling and testing campaign is scheduled for Q3 2024 and aims to appraise existing gas sands, conduct flow testing, and target undrilled prospective resources to potentially increase the Anchois gas development to over 1 trillion ft3.
The Lixus license covers an area of 1,794 km2, extending from the coastline to a water depth of 850 meters.