Quite a symbol... The oil exploration company Longreach has decided to rename itself PetroMaroc, according to a statement published on June 18. Even if for the moment it has not discovered a drop of oil in the kingdom, this "junior company" of Canadian origin thus marks its anchoring in the Moroccan hydrocarbon landscape.
Registered in Jersey, led by Canadian management, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, PetroMaroc is an independent exploration company led by a few experts in the sector. It has obtained several permits from the Moroccan authorities in recent years. To implement them, it has raised funds on the stock market or from private investors. On April 10, it successfully completed a private placement of 9.7 million dollars.
TRACES OF GAS
Although without any commercial activity, PetroMaroc's capitalization on the Toronto Stock Exchange reached 25 million Canadian dollars.
Today, its most important asset is a 50% stake in the onshore license known as Sidi Mokhtar. Located 80km east of Essaouira, it includes three blocks totaling 2,683 km2 in total. The other half of this license is held equally by the company MPE (formerly Lone Star, controlled by Moroccan capital including the CDG...) and by the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), which, according to Moroccan law, is mandatorily associated with all exploration operations in the country.
http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/maroc-longreach-oil-and-gas-ltd-demarre-le-forage-d-un-puits-a-essaouira.N219647">PetroMaroc began its operations on Sidi Mokhtar in 2013, notably on the blocks known as Kamar and Koba, where it announced it had discovered http://www.agenceecofin.com/hydrocarbures/2404-19492-maroc-longreach-confirme-la-presence-de-gaz-dans-kamar-1-sur-sidi-moktar">traces of gas, without the exploitable nature of this resource being validated yet. For its explorations, PetroMaroc contracted last year with the Italian engineering firm Saipem, which notably leased it its platform known as Saipem Drillmec Mas 7000, a 2000-horsepower rig built in 2007. Operations were carried out at depths of more than 2500 meters.
Drilling on the Kamar and Koba blocks has now stopped, with the company saying it is in the phase of analyzing the results.
On the occasion of its name change, PetroMaroc published a complete presentation of its ongoing exploration operations this week (see document below). According to this document, the company notably plans to invest 10 million dollars in the first quarter of 2015 in the acquisition of 3D seismic data, still on Sidi Mokhtar, and 30 million dollars in two new wells in the 3rd and 4th quarters. To this is added about 5 million dollars planned by the end of the year for the analysis of data collected by previous drilling campaigns.
PetroMaroc also holds very small shares (1 to 2%) in other blocks in Morocco, some of which yielded nothing and were abandoned.
Morocco is almost devoid of hydrocarbon resources, unlike neighboring Algeria, and the authorities have pushed in recent years http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/le-maroc-reve-d-or-noir.N241399">for the amplification of exploration operations by private operators, thanks to the granting of licenses and an attractive tax policy. The share rightfully belonging to the ONHYM, at least 25%, being relatively low compared to the habits of producing countries, is a factor of attractiveness for companies.
As a result, many independent companies, some created ex-nihilo for the occasion, have become interested in this "frontier" market, such as http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/une-plate-forme-petroliere-a-600-000-dollars-par-jour-bientot-en-service-au-large-du-maroc.N198854">Kosmos, http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/cairn-va-bientot-forer-mais-il-n-y-a-pas-encore-de-petrole-au-maroc.N211392">Cairn, Tangier Petroleum, or therefore Longreach. We also note the presence of some international companies such as http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/chevron-va-chercher-du-petrole-dans-l-offshore-marocain.N190334">the American Chevron, the French http://www.usinenouvelle.com/total/" rel="" target="" title="Actus du leader mondial de l'industrie du pétrole et du gaz naturel Total">Total, or the Portuguese Galp Energy, which is currently conducting an exploration campaign off Tarfaya in Western Sahara.
about twenty wells
According to Moroccan authorities, about twenty exploration wells are expected to be operated this year for total investments exceeding 100 million dollars.
Nevertheless, given the media excitement concerning these programs, Amina Benkadhra, Director General of the ONHYM, has warned several times in recent months about the random nature of this research. For the moment, these have not led to any exploitable reserves.
Thus, last March, the company Cairn abandoned exploration on the Juby Maritime 1 offshore block off Tarfaya in southern Morocco. There were indeed traces of oil, but it was not exploitable. The well was plugged.
Pierre-Olivier Rouaud
Presentation document of PetroMaroc's activities (in English). Source: PetroMaroc (Longreach)
