LONDON (Alliance News) - The companies involved in the Sidi Moussa well offshore Morocco Monday said oil has been encountered at the well, with preparations underway to perform cased hole testing.
Genel Energy has a 60% interest in the Sidi Moussa well, while San Leon Energy PLC owns a 10% interest and Serica Energy PLC holds a 5% interest.
All three companies released separate statements stating the well has been drilled to a total depth of 2,825 metres and encountered oil. Preparations to conduct cased hole testing are underway, they said.
Cased hole testing involves testing the well through the well casing after the it has been drilled, rather than testing before or whilst the well is being drilled.
"We are at a very early stage and the presence of hydrocarbons in this frontier block will require further evaluation. At this stage it is premature to make any definitive technical interpretation," said Serica Chairman Tony Craven.
"Testing the SM-1 [Sidi Moussa] well aims to evaluate the structure and its hydrocarbon potential as much as possible at this stage of early exploration, and we look forward to updating the market with the results once these are available," said San Leon Chairman Oisin Fanning.
Genel Energy shares closed at 694.96 pence per share on Friday. San Leon shares closed at 2.25 pence and Serica shares closed at 11.72 pence.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Genel Energy (GENL)
San Leon (SLE)
Serica Energy (SQZ)