According to a press release - Vanco Energy Company of Houston and Lasmo plc of London have deepened their commitment to find oil and gas offshore Morocco by signing exploration permits with the national oil company ONAREP in Rabat today.
The Safi Haute Mer permit (Vanco 100 percent) and the adjoining Ras Tafelney permit (Vanco 60 percent , Lasmo 40 percent ) will convert from reconnaissance permits to exploration permits, the first since Shell was awarded one earlier this year. Vanco will operate both blocks. The awards come as ONAREP promotes its first licensing round for northwest offshore Morocco, expected to close April 30, 2001.
Both Safi Haute Mer and Ras Tafelney were acquired in 1998 as Exclusive Reconnaissance Permits with the objective to explore the Essaouira Basin. "We had very little seismic to go on, and we were exploring a virgin area," says Vanco's President Gene Van Dyke of the 8.4-million-acre area. "But, we understood Morocco's regional geology.
We knew Morocco's deep water Atlantic correlated with that of Nova Scotia, and given that, we knew similar play types would exist. After acquiring and interpreting over 5,000 kilometers of 2D seismic in the last two years, we've identified at least 35 leads -– mostly in the Cretaceous –- which could produce significant hydrocarbons for Morocco."
The exploration permits call for 3D seismic acquisition and one well on each permit within the first 3-year period. A 3,000-square-kilometer 3D program is scheduled to begin in late March 2001, concentrating on the toe thrust trend crossing both blocks.
Vanco Energy Company is a Houston-based independent specializing in exploring and developing oil and gas in deep water. Vanco is a deepwater acreage holder in West Africa with 20 million net acres offshore Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Morocco, Namibia and Senegal.(MEBG).
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
