Genel Energy's SM-1 well on the Nour prospect in the Sidi Moussa block offshore Morocco has found oil and is to be well tested.
Partner San Leon Energy said the well, drilled using Noble Corp.'s Noble Paul Romano semisubmersible drilling rig, reached 2825m total measured depth below rotary table and encountered oil during drilling operations. Preparations are now underway to perform cased hole testing.
Genel confirmed San Leon's comments, but cautioned: "It is premature at this stage of operations and ahead of the forthcoming testing of the well to make any definitive technical interpretation."
Genel Energy's last well offshore Morocco was the Hagar Qim-1 well in Area 4. It was plugged and abandoned earlier this year after finding no hydrocarbons. The well was drilled to the Eocene.
Early August, Galp Energia plugged and abandoned the Tao-1 exploration well in the Tarfaya block offshore Morocco after encountering unfavorable reservoir quality in the Trident objective.
Pura Vida Energy is due to start its drilling campaign in the Mazagan permit offshore Morocco, first targeting the Toubkal-1 well, which is expected to spud January 2015, using Atwood Oceanic's new-build Atwood Achiever drillship, which the firm is sharing with Kosmos Energy. Kosmos Energy is planning to drill the Gargaa well, in the Cap Boujdour Block.
Genel has said SM-1 is targeting prospective resources of 300MMbbl at a 20% probability of success. The Sidi Moussa block lies in 200-1250m water depth, about 75km southwest of Agadir.
Oisin Fanning, San Leon Executive Chairman, said: “Testing the SM-1 well aims to evaluate the structure and its hydrocarbon potential as much as possible at this stage of early exploration, and we look forward to updating the market with the results once these are available.”
Tony Craven Walker, Chairman and CEO of license partner Serica Energy said: "We are at a very early stage and the presence of hydrocarbons in this frontier block will require further evaluation. At this stage it is premature to make any definitive technical interpretation. The planned well test is being designed to achieve this objective as far as possible and an update will be released once these operations are concluded."
Genel Energy is operator and holds 60% working interest in the Sidi Moussa block, with San Leon holding 10%, Serica 5%, and Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining holding the remaining 25%.
Genel's Moroccan acreage position also includes the Juby Maritime and Mir Left licenses. Together with Sidi Moussa, they span 16,500sq km. Exploration activity to date has focused on the potential for oil accumulations in Jurassic aged rocks, although a deeper pre-salt play in the Triassic is also under evaluation.
In January 2014, the partners on the Juby Maritime licence spudded the first well offshore Morocco, the JM-1 well, which targeted the Cap Juby prospect. The well confirmed the presence of heavy oil over a gross interval of 110m in an Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir. Work is ongoing to evaluate the extent of moveable hydrocarbons and how any further assessment should be conducted.
The Atwood Achiever is a 6th generation ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned drillship with enhanced offline capabilities and two BOP systems. The rig’s capabilities include drilling to total depths of up to 40,000 feet, and in water depths of up to 12,000ft.
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