By Akanimo Sampson
A Jersey-based oil and gas exploration company, Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC says it is bidding for the construction and operation of a proposed Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Morocco, off the Atlantic coast.
Last month, the country’s Department of Energy and Mines Fuel, called for expressions of interest on the oil project. The company will utilise its experience and know-how that it has acquired through the development of its FSRU concept for security and diversity of energy supply for the Republic of Ireland to help Morocco meet the demand for natural gas. It is estimated that by 2025 the North African country will need 1.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which will increase to 1.7 billion cubic meters after 5 years (2030), and 3 billion cubic meters 15 years later (2040).
Currently, the North African country has a demand of just 1 billion cubic meters per year that it meets owing to gas it sources in Algeria as part of its Algerian gas transit agreement to Spain.
According to the Jersey-based oil and gas exploration company, the FSRU project will not interfere with its plans to develop the Guercif that has an estimated 474 billion standard cubic feet of gas and considerable upside potential.“This is somewhat a potential continuation of the company’s commercial development strategy in Morocco, which aims to increase future gas exports to Europe, once the Moroccan domestic gas market has reached its full potential”, notes the company in an update on its operations in the North African country.
It also announced that it had received the necessary authorizations for the construction of the MOU-1 well platform from its Guercif exploration licenses.
The well has tertiary gas potential in areas less than 10 km from the GME pipeline and it is expected to be drilled this coming month.
