British Company Makes Big Gas Find in Morocco

The discovery of natural gas at their Tendrara drilling site in northeast Morocco was confirmed by British gas exploration company Sound Energy on August 8. A company statement said the flow is "significantly above initial expectations and represents a highly commercial rate”.

As reported by Morocco World News, Sound Energy finished drilling the well on June 6, with a depth of 2,665m. The company announced on July 11 that the first gas flow had begun.

The company has also reported that the pressure at the bottom of the hole, as well as the lack of gas/water contract in previous wells in the area, suggests "the possibility of a significant gas column within a continuous extended structure”. They added that an additional well, about 30km to the northeast, will be required to confirm this.

In a separate report, the Telegraph noted that Sound Energy will press on with its second well in the licence area and is planning a third for later in the year.

"I am absolutely delighted to confirm a material commercial gas discovery at Tendrara,” said James Parsons, Sound Energy’s chief executive who has previously spent 12 years working for oil major Royal Dutch Shell.

He claimed that Tendrara together with the adjacent Meridja permit area, in which Sound Energy also has a stake, "have the potential to be a material hydrocarbon province on a regional scale and therefore to transform both Sound Energy and the Moroccan gas industry”.

Sound Energy’s partners on Tendrara include the American oilfield services giant Schlumberger and Morocco’s Oil & Gas Investment Fund. The explorer also has assets in Italy.