LONDON (Alliance News) - Chariot Oil & Gas Ltd said Tuesday it was "very disappointing" not to discover any oil at its two deepwater wells, in Morocco and Namibia, but is now focussed on delivering an exploration well in Morocco.
Shares in Chariot Oil & Gas were down 11% at 2.35 pence each.
The oil and gas explorer said it is fully funded to progress its assets in Morocco and Brazil.
Chariot is targeting drilling the Mohammedia licence prospect MOH-B, in Morocco. It has started drilling preparations following the approval of the drilling environmental impact assessment.
Chariot said its secured an option to back-in for between 10% to 20% equity in the new C-19 block in Mauritania, which was awarded to Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
Chariot, however, said it decided not to participate in the project due to the "expected cost of access and maturation, the time needed to progress to optional drilling and the likely scale of the prize".
The company did say it is currently in negotiation on a new licence in the "Atlantic margins" and continues to evaluate new venture opportunities.
"Clearly it has been very disappointing not to have delivered a transformational discovery from the two deepwater wells that we have participated in this year. However, one of these wells was delivered at zero-cost, and the other was drilled significantly under-budget for what is likely to become a new benchmark for the sector," said Chief Executive Officer Larry Bottomley.
"With all licence commitments now met across the entire portfolio, the company is fully-funded to progress our assets in Morocco and Brazil whilst remaining vigilant to other value accretive opportunities."
Chariot expects to be debt free with no licence commitments and cash of USD19 million at December 31.
