Morocco Continues Offshore Oil Exploration Despite Past Setbacks

The potential of this area in the Atlantic is well known, which is pushing Morocco, as well as energy giants and independent explorers, to carry out explorations there in an attempt to find crude oil. "Although recent results have not lived up to expectations, interest in offshore exploration in Morocco persists, supported by its exploration potential and competitive fiscal environment," says Jorge Navarro, vice president of the Spanish Association of Oil Geologists and Geophysicists (AGGEP) and professor at the Polytechnic University, to El Economista.

In 2022, the company Europa Oil & Gas announced the discovery of an oil field of around 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil off Agadir in Morocco. Estimates based on old data. In reality, no exploration well had been drilled. The company’s goal was to arouse the interest of investors and companies to finance the drilling of an exploration well in the waters between Morocco and the Canary Islands. After this false news, the Cinnamon-1 well was drilled in December 2023 in Tarfaya by a consortium comprising Eni (45%), Qatar Energy (30%) and the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco - ONHYM (25%).

"Using the Topaz Driller jack-up platform, located in a 100-meter water depth, the main target of the well was the Jurassic carbonates, where heavy oil was tested in the late 1960s in the non-commercial Cap Juby field, the only significant oil discovery offshore Morocco to date," explains Navarro. Unfortunately, the Cinnamon-1 well did not meet expectations and the Tarfaya exploration permit area was abandoned. In August 2024, the discovery of the Anchois-3 well, initially drilled by Repsol in 2009 on the Lixus license, was announced. Led by Energean (45%) with Chariot (30%) and ONHYM (25%), this project did not prosper either.

Despite these disappointments, Morocco continues to attract investors in the energy sector. Companies like ExxonMobil, which signed exploration contracts in July in the Agadir-Ifni Offshore (109,246 km²) and Safi-Essaouira Offshore (20,819 km²) blocks, maintain their interest in the Moroccan offshore which, according to Navarro, retains attention "due to its promising exploration potential, attractive fiscal environment and the support of ONHYM".