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Sidi Mokhtar

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Our exploration asset in Morocco: Sidi Mokhtar

License Details


Area

4,711 km2


Status

Petroleum Agreement: Exploration


Effective date

April 2018


Term

10 years


Resource Potential

Unrisked exploration potential of up to nine Tcf1 gross original gas in place following interpretation of the historical 2D seismic. The Company believes the pre-salt plays have been overlooked in the region with limited drilling to specifically target these deeper successions


Interests

Operator with an effective interest of 75%

ONHYM holds the remaining 25% interest

Permit Area

The permit is located on the Atlantic seaboard of Morocco approximately 100 kms to the west of Marrakech

In 2016, Sound Energy entered into binding agreements with Maghreb Petroleum Exploration S.A and PetroMaroc Corporation Plc to acquire a 75% operated position in the Sidi Moktar Petroleum Agreement. ONHYM retains the remaining 25% position under the Petroleum Agreement. In July 2017, the Company reported the results of a re-entry, completion, perforation and flow testing of the existing Koba-1 well, focused on previously producing relatively shallow gas reservoir.

Strategically, the Company has shifted its focus on the Sidi Moktar area towards what it believes to be the potentially more significant opportunity of the deeper Triassic TAGI1 and Palaeozoic gas plays in the region already demonstrated by the gas and condensate producing adjacent Meskala Field operated by our partner ONHYM. In June 2018, the Company was awarded a new eight-year Petroleum Agreement and is now actively seeking a farm-in partner to participate in a geophysical survey programme focused on these deeper objectives.

In October 2020, the Company announced a two-year extension to the initial period of the Sidi Moktar licence and that the work programme for the initial period of the Sidi Moktar permit remained unchanged.

Geology

The Sidi Moktar permit hosts a variety of proven plays. Previous exploration has focused on the shallower post-salt plays. Sound Energy believes that the deeper, sub-salt Triassic and Palaeozoic plays, already proven by the Meskala Gas Field, may contain significant prospective resources, in excess of any discovered volumes in the shallower stratigraphy.

Un-risked exploration potential of up to 9 Tcf2 gross original gas in place following interpretation of the historical 2D seismic. The Company believes the pre-salt plays have been overlooked in the region with limited drilling to specifically target these deeper successions.

The sub-salt plays are underexplored with more than 60 historical exploration wells focused on shallower objectives in the Jurassic post-salt carbonate successions. The few historical sub-salt tests were drilled on poor sub-salt seismic imaging. Recent improvements in seismic acquisition and processing technologies are expected to provide enhanced imaging of the sub-salt structure and geology.

Sound believes that all elements of petroleum system present and commissioned integrated geological mapping, basin restoration and 3D petroleum system modelling to de-risk the Triassic and Palaeozoic plays in the basin, proven by the Meskala Field which produces gas and condensate from a Triassic reservoir. Note that the salt forms a critical and extensive seal retaining sub-salt overpressures and preserving this deeper petroleum system from the later Atlantic and Alpine tectonics.

Future Developments

Our next step is to mature the identified leads to drillable prospects with improved seismic imaging. We aim to acquire new, high-quality 2D seismic data in 2022, focused on improving the sub-salt imaging. This work is currently planned culminate in an exploration well targeting a high-impact gas prospect in 2023.

1 Trias Argilo-Gréseux Inférieur (‘TAGI') are sandstones deposited in a fluvial-alluvial environment and are significant oil and gas reservoirs across Algeria, extending into Morocco.

2 Internal exploration potential estimates, unrisked original gas in place (gross)