Sound Energy Regulatory News (SOU)

18 April 2017

Sound Energy plc

("Sound Energy" or the "Company")

Mobilisation of Rig to Sidi Moktar

Sound Energy, the African and European focused upstream gas company, is pleased to announce the mobilisation of a rig to the Company's Sidi Moktar asset, onshore Morocco.

The Sidi Moktar licences ("Sidi Moktar") cover 2,700 square kilometres in the Essaouira basin, central Morocco and contain an existing gas discovery in the Lower Liassic ("Kechoula") and significant deeper potential. Sidi Moktar is close to existing infrastructure, including the large scale Moroccan state owned OCP Phosphate plant.

Two wells have already been drilled at Kechoula by previous operators and have been estimated to have an unrisked mid case original gas in place ("GOIP") of 293 Bscf (gross). As previously announced by the Company, the Sidi Moktar licences are also estimated, similar to the Company's Eastern Morocco positions, to have significant pre-Jurassic exploration potential from the TAGI and Paleozoic in excess of 1 Tcf unrisked GOIP (gross). The Company notes the quantitive assesment prepared by a previous operator in 1998 which referred to exploration potential of the Sidi Moktar licences of up to 9 Tcf unrisked GOIP (gross) in the TAGI and Paleozoic. The Company will require the reprocessing of existing 2D seismic, acquisition of new 2D seismic and drilling results before forming its own volume estimates for the exploration potential of the Sidi Moktar licences.

The Company announces that the SAIPEM rig used to drill the Company's most recent Tendrara well (TE-8) has now been mobilised to Sidi Moktar. The rig will, upon arrival in May 2017, execute the re-entering and testing of the two existing wells on the Kechoula discovery which, subject to initial well results, may include a sidetrack and an extended well test thereafter.

Given the Company's strong financial position, the Company also announces that it has decided not to proceed with the previously announced proposed farm out of Sidi Moktar, and to instead retain its 75% operated position in the Sidi Moktar licences.

Once the workovers, and any sidetrack and extended well test are complete, the Company intends to renew the Sidi Moktar licences (which currently expire on 28 August 2017) thereby starting a new eight year period. The first activity following the renewal of the Sidi Moktar licences will be 2D seismic reprocessing and the acquisition of new 2D seismic, scheduled for 2018, after which the deeper pre-salt horizons can be drilled.

James Parsons, the Company's Chief Executive, commented:

"We are hugely excited about Sidi Moktar with the opportunity to demonstrate a commercial gas discovery, with potential near term production and significant deeper exploration potential in the pre-salt. Our financial strength enables us to avoid asset dilution therefore retaining a greater exposure to the very material deeper upside.

Once the rig has finished at Sidi Moktar we expect it to return to Tendrara to continue our unlocking of the recently proven transformational Eastern Morocco TAGI and Paleozoic plays." 

For further information please contact:

This announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed by Sound Energy's Executive Vice President, Brian Mitchener, a chartered petroleum geologist.

Tcf means trillion cubic feet of gas; Bscf means billion cubic feet of gas.