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LONDON (Alliance News) - Chariot Oil & Gas Ltd shares spiked Wednesday after the company announced its wholly-owned subsidiary was awarded a 75% interest and operatorship of the Lixus offshore licence in Morocco.
Shares in Chariot were up 16% Wednesday morning at 2.60 pence each.
Chariot said the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, Morocco's national oil company, will hold the remaining 25% interest.
The licence covers about 2,390 square kilometres, 30 kilometres north of Chariot's existing Moroccan acreage with water depths reaching 850 metres.
The licence includes four exploration wells, including the Anchois gas discovery.
"The award of the Lixus licence provides Chariot with a discovered resource base offering a low-cost development opportunity and significant upside," said Chief Executive Larry Bottomley.
The commercial attractiveness of the Lixus licence is further enhanced by its position offshore Morocco, a fast growing energy market with high gas prices and a need for increased supply. In addition to the development opportunity, the licence offers very low risk exploration tie-back potential in the same play; and higher risk, transformational lead potential in the sub-nappe," added Bottomley.
The initial licence commitment, which Chariot is fully funded to cover, includes a technical programme of 3D seismic reprocessing and evaluation of potential further exploration.
Chariot has commissioned a feasibility study into progressing towards development of the Anchois discovery.
