Sound Energy, the African and European focused upstream gas company, is pleased to announce that the SAIPEM rig has now arrived at the Company’s Sidi Moktar asset, onshore Morocco, ahead of the re-entry and testing of the Lower and Middle Jurassic in two existing wells on the Kechoula discovery.

The Sidi Moktar licences (Sidi Moktar) cover 2,700 km2 in the Essaouira basin, central Morocco and contain an existing gas discovery in the Lower Liassic (Kechoula) and significant pre-salt potential. Sidi Moktar is close to existing infrastructure and gas demand, including the large scale Moroccan state owned OCP Phosphate plant.

The two wells to be re-entered and tested by the Company, Koba-1 and Kamar-1, have already been drilled at Kechoula by previous operators and have been estimated to have an unrisked mid case original gas in place (GOIP) in the Lower Liassic reservoir of 293 Bscf (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.

In the near term, the Company plans to complete a two-stage workover of the two wells, which will include:

Completion, perforation and testing of the Lower Liassic in Koba-1, with possible additional testing of the Argovian – all expected to commence before the end of May 2017

Completion, perforation and testing of the Lower Liassic in Kamar-1, with a possible additional testing of the Dogger – all expected to start mid-June 2017

Should the wells deliver a commercial flow rate, the Company will complete an Extended Well Test and assuming a successful test, target first commercial gas to the domestic market, around the end of 2017.

Source: www.worldoil.com