Energean has completed the farm-in to Chariot Ltd. acreage offshore Morocco following regulatory approvals in addition to signing a rig contract with Stena Drilling Ltd, one of the world’s independent drilling contractors.

“We are delighted to start working in Morocco, where we hope to repeat our previous successes in the Mediterranean: enhancing domestic production, helping to meet the country’s growing demand, with the potential for exports for any surplus supply, and facilitating both energy security and long-term coal reduction,” Mathios Rigas, CEO of Energean stated in a press release.

In December 2023, Energean agreed to farm into a 45% working interest in the Lixus offshore license, which contains the Anchois gas development, and a 37.5% working interest in the Rissana license. Both licenses are offshore Morocco.

The company has paid $10 million in cash consideration upon the closing of the farm-in deal. The overall participation in the Lixus license is now divided between Energean (45%; operator), Chariot (30%), and ONHYM (25%), while the Rissana license is shared between Energean (37.5%; operator), Chariot (37.5%), and ONHYM (25%).

Energean has also signed a rig contract with Stena for the use of its Stena Forth drillship. The contract includes an appraisal well and an optional well. The appraisal well is planned to be drilled in Q3 2024 by Energean as the operator, along with its partners.

The purpose of the appraisal well is to undertake a drill stem test on the main gas-containing sands and target an additional 11 bcm of gross unrisked prospective resources, Energean stated.