Fastnet, an E&P company focused on near term exploration acreage in Morocco and the Celtic Sea, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Pathfinder Hydrocarbon Ventures has executed an exclusive option agreement with Oil and Gas Investments Funds to farm into eight Exploration Blocks comprising the Tendrara Lakbir Petroleum Agreement onshore Morocco.
The Tendrara Lakbir Licence covers an area of 14,548 sq. km. It covers the majority of the Tendrara Basin, which lies between the Middle Atlas to the north and the High Atlas to the south and which is one of Morocco’s prospective basins for Triassic gas. Five wells drilled within the Licence Area have encountered gas-bearing Triassic sands of the Tagi Formation (the “Tagi”). The Tagi is the host reservoir for Morocco’s producing Meskala gas field, along strike to the west in the Essaouira Basin. All these gas discoveries have been charged from the prolific Silurian source rocks that are an integral part of the proven Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic petroleum systems covering large parts of Libya, Algeria and Morocco.
The TE-5 gas discovery was made in 2006 in the Tendrara Licence. Petrophysical reservoir parameters were the best seen in the Tendrara Licence and comparable to those of the producing Meskala gas field. The well was re-entered and put on an extended well test in 2008 and encouragingly no significant pressure depletion was recorded. However the well failed to reach its optimum predicted deliverability rate of 4 to 7 MMCFD for the reservoir parameters verified by earlier log analysis. A number of promising pay zones were not perforated.
The TE-5 Structure has 3D seismic coverage which has been more fully interpreted following the 2008 testing programme. It shows a significant seismic anomaly in the Tagi northeast of the well which has been interpreted as indicating the presence of more favourable reservoir properties. It is this area that will be targeted by Pathfinder in the appraisal/pre-development well.
OGIF commissioned third party studies in 2011 following the TE-5 (Structure) extended well test and 3D seismic interpretation that indicates an important potential of gas.
Pathfinder’s appraisal/pre-development well will be designed to firstly: narrow the range in GIIP by better well and 3D seismic correlation of reservoir attributes; and secondly to optimise potential well deliverabilities for input into an Outline Plan of Development.
The Tendrara Licence contains a large number of Tagi gas discoveries, prospects and leads with additional, as yet untested, potential in Palaeozoic formations.
If the drilling results are positive, there are opportunities either to export through the Maghreb gas pipeline; to supply power indirectly through the Ain Beni Mathar Power Plant; or directly through on-site power generation. OGIF is a local exploration company which has already done a lot of work and is a valuable partner to develop the area.
