Morocco’s Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining (ONHYM) announced that the drilling program at the Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen region has been successful, with 19 out of 22 wells drilled testing positive for natural gas, Morocco World News reported.

“This campaign has been very promising, since 19 out of the 22 wells drilled were considered positive,” Amina Benkhadra, the director of ONHYM told the news agency MAP.

He made the comments during a visit to the site CGD-13 wells, organized by ONHYM and its partner Ireland-based Circle Oil.

“Although these gas discoveries are small, they can power the industry of the region,” Benkhadra said.

CEO of Circle Oil, Mitch Flegg, highlighted the encouraging results of his company’s drilling campaign, touting the absence of major incidents and environmental impacts.

“We will now connect the gas to our pipeline in Kenitra, and will sell it directly to the end user,” said Flegg, adding that Circle Oil plans to return next year to commence the drilling of several wells, Liberation reported.