Gulfsands Petroleum PLC has spudded the Al Krima-1 well on the Rharb Centre permit in northern Morocco, the first of nine wells to be drilled in two back-to-back programs on the company’s Rharb permits.
Gulfsands will drill AKR-1 to 1,450 m true vertical depth to evaluate two distinct Miocene-aged reservoirs, contained within a fault-bound structural closure, that have been identified from seismic data as having the potential to be gas-bearing. Drilling time is estimated at 28 days.
The drillsite northeast of Rabat is within 1 km of a pipeline into which it is anticipated a successful well would be quickly tied in for delivery of gas to preexisting demand from local buyers.
Meanwhile, the 220 sq km 3D seismic survey over the highly prospective southwestern part of the Rharb permit is nearing completion. Final data capture is expected to be completed by the end of October. Data will be processed for use early in 2014 to assist the company in further delineating drilling targets for the remainder of the nine-well program.
On the Fes permit northwest of the city of Fes, 650 line-km of 2D seismic is being shot and is expected to be complete in early 2014, weather permitting. That program is to assist in identifying and prioritizing additional drilling targets on the Fes permit and to more accurately define drill targets identified on an earlier gravity survey and legacy 2D seismic.
The company anticipates drilling at least one and possibly two wells on the Fes permit, the first of which would be spudded in mid-2014.