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China-Africa Trade Information Service
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Chariot Oil & Gas, a gas and oil exploration company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Digital Economy to become a local gas supplier.
The memorandum of understanding promises to further develop the offshore Anchois gas field located near the northern Moroccan city of Larache. The British company Chariot and its partner, the National Office for Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Industry on March 2.
Under the agreement, with the support of the Moroccan ministry, Chariot hopes to promote job creation, regional integration, as well as the promotion of clean energy for the industrial sector. It would also allow the company to promote the Anchois field as a major supplier of gas to the Moroccan market.
The announcement comes following the discovery of significantly higher gas reserves in the Anchois field than the initial assessment implied. The group announced in September 2020 that the total recoverable gas resources exceed one trillion cubic feet. The number represents an increase of 148% compared to the company’s initially-reported figures.
Acting CEO of the British company, Adonis Pouroulis confirmed the “materiality of the Anchois Gas Field Development project. We continue to hold the view that this asset has the capacity to be a value accretive and long-term project of national significance to Morocco.”
Morocco continues “to support the development of domestic gas prospects to support the fast-growing industrial sector in [the country] and contribute to its global competitiveness by providing a cheap, clean and reliable source of energy,” declared Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the minister of industry, trade and green and digital economy.
Pouroulis also welcomed the deal, believing that the Anchovy field would help decarbonise the Moroccan economy.
Following the latest reevaluation, the Anchovy gas field is considered to be a “high potential” field for oil extraction.