SDX Energy Launches 2021 Gas Drilling Campaign in Morocco Despite Pandemic Delays

"SDX Energy", which holds a direct 75% stake in the Sebou concession, located in the Gharb basin, has launched additional development activities until the end of 2021 on this site. This campaign was delayed by about a month due to travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, "which has greatly delayed the mobilization of equipment and personnel in Morocco," explained Mark Reid, CEO of SDX Energy, in a press release.

Three of the five wells will be drilled in the next three months in the Gharb basin, using modern low-cost natural gas extraction techniques, as the company will use the drilling platform already stacked on its construction site in Morocco. Work on the other two wells will begin in September-October 2021, SDX said, noting that the drilling of these five wells in the second and fourth quarters of the current fiscal year are part of the 12-well project launched in the last quarter of 2019.

The three initial wells are expected to yield 1.8 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas (1.3 billion cubic feet of 90 P/1.8 billion cubic feet of P50, unrisked potential recoverable resources), the MENA-focused energy company said in a statement, particularly in Egypt and Morocco in North Africa.

According to London-listed Oil Exchange, the first well "OYF-2" in the Gharb region is expected to reach a depth of about 1,160 meters, while the second well "KSR-17" for gas exploration has a depth of 1,720 meters. The third well, "KSR-18", targets the "Guebbas" and "Hoot" reservoirs. The objective of these wells is to "add reserves to enable us to continue to deliver gas to our customers in accordance with their contractual requirements," the British company concluded.