LONDON, UK: Chariot Limited (AIM: CHAR), the Africa focused transitional energy company, has announced that it has signed a Petroleum Agreement for a new exploration licence, Loukos Onshore, located onshore Morocco.

The company will hold a 75% interest in, and operatorship of the Loukos licence, in partnership with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), which will hold a 25% interest. The Loukos licence covers an approximate area of 1,371 km2 and is adjacent to Chariot’s Lixus and Rissana offshore licences, with the former containing the significant Anchois gas discovery and development project.

The company has already identified multiple low risk gas prospects on the Loukos licence, based on existing modern 3D seismic data and on-block wells. The prospects are geologically similar to Chariot’s offshore projects, including the Anchois gas discovery. The company intends to drill priority targets, with drill rigs available in country.

The Loukos licence has the potential to deliver early gas sales due to the proximity to a significant and undersupplied industrial gas market, with further potential development synergies through the location of the planned Anchois processing facility and pipelines being situated on-block.

The licence commitments comprise re-processing of existing 2D and 3D seismic data and desktop studies, which will help to fully evaluate the potential of the Loukos licence, including other plays and areas outside of that covered by existing 3D seismic data.

The agreement is part of Chariot’s strategy to focus on transitional energy projects in Africa, with a strong emphasis on gas.

Mrs Amina Benkhadra, General Director Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, commented: “We are pleased to have signed this Petroleum Agreement with Chariot. They have a substantial understanding and knowledge of this basin from their extensive exploration in the area and we look forward to their ongoing work and progress with a view to accelerating the supply of gas to the Moroccan markets.”

Duncan Wallace, Technical Director of Chariot, commented: “This onshore licence is a natural fit with our existing acreage in Morocco. Loukos has significant read through from the prospectivity we see offshore, with a common geological setting extending from our Lixus licence and the onshore operating environment offering a significantly lower cost development and an attractively priced domestic industrial market ready to serve. The Company has already high-graded a range of targets on the 3D seismic data set, and further to our recent fundraise we plan to drill near-term to look to accelerate the supply of gas directly to domestic industries through various routes, including leveraging our new partnership with Vivo Energy.”

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