Is Energean preparing to leave Morocco? This is what the CEO of the Greek-British energy company, Mathios Rigas, implicitly suggested in an interview with the specialized media Asharq Businesson the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Oil Exhibition (ADIPEC), which was held from November 4 to 7 in the United Arab Emirates.
The reason for this probable departure are the inconclusive drilling results obtained by the company following operations carried out in its Anchois offshore field, located in the Lixus Offshore license, off the coast of Larache, whose Certified potential was estimated at 18 billion cubic meters of natural gas. “We drilled an offshore well in Morocco, but we didn’t find what we were hoping for. From our point of view, there has been no notable progress in this area and the results have not been in line with our expectations.“, he said.
Gas found, but in insufficient quantities
According to him, the drilled area certainly contains gas, but the quantities could be more suited to a company smaller than his. “It would be preferable to use a smaller company to continue this project», he recommends, announcing that his company would henceforth concentrate on its deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Greece.
Read also: Gas exploration: Chariot announces the presence of gas reservoirs in its Anchois-3 well
Mathios Rigas did not wish to disclose the details of the drilling results, preferring to leave it to Morocco. “I prefer not to say anything until the results are announced by the Moroccan government. The gap is enormous and it is preferable that it is the government which communicates“, he said.
In April 2024, Energean finalized its agreement with the British company Chariot to acquire respectively 45% and 37.5% of the shares in the Lixus and Rissana offshore licenses of the Anchois field, compared to 25% for the National Office of Hydrocarbons and mines (ONHYM) in each permit.
Recall that following the first drilling results published on September 11 on operations carried out in the Anchois-3 well in the Anchois field, Chariot announced the discovery of natural gas reservoirs, not without specifying that the gas layers were lower than the estimates of the geological model anticipated before the start of operations.
