Baraka signs MOU for property off Morocco

May 26, 2005
Baraka Petroleum Ltd., Perth, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Moroccan national oil company Office Nationale de Recherches et d'Exploitations Petrolieres (ONAREP) for the right to examine the undeveloped Cap Juby oil discovery off Morocco.

Rick Wilkinson
OGJ correspondent

MELBOURNE, May 26 -- Baraka Petroleum Ltd., Perth, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Moroccan national oil company Office Nationale de Recherches et d'Exploitations Petrolieres (ONAREP) for the right to examine the undeveloped Cap Juby oil discovery off Morocco.

The MOU covers a 3,600 sq km area that surrounds the field and contains several other untried prospects, including the Winnow and Shazam leads. It lies in water as deep as 200 m between the Canary Islands and the Moroccan coast.

Kerr-McGee Corp. holds acreage immediately to the south, while Maersk Oil & Gas AS holds the permit to the north.

The MOU, valid for 6 months, gives Baraka the exclusive right to evaluate the Cap Juby heavy oil reservoir and determine its structural complexity using 2D and 3D seismic data held by ONAREP. At the end of this period Baraka has the option to negotiate an exclusive exploration and development concession.

Exxon Corp. found Cap Juby field in 1969. The discovery well flowed on test at 2,458 b/d of heavy oil from a Mesozoic carbonate. Estimated oil reserves are 40-70 million bbl.

Resource Investment Strategy Consultants (RISC), a Perth-based oil and gas advisory consultant firm, will perform much of the evaluation, which will include reevaluating archives and data acquired from ONAREP and previous tenement holders, including Roc Oil Ltd., Sydney.