Italian oil and gas giant Eni has signed a petroleum agreement (PA) with the Moroccan State Company ONHYM to enter into the Tarfaya Offshore Shallow exploration permits I-XII, which is located in the Atlantic Ocean offshore the cities of Sidi Ifni, Tan Tan and Tarfaya
The agreement is subject to the authorisation of the Moroccan authorities, said Eni.
Under the deal, Eni will be the operator of the license with a 75 per cent stake, while ONHYM will retain a 25 per cent stake. The exploration rights cover an area of 23,900 sq km, with a water depth ranging from zero to 1,000m, with liquid hydrocarbons potential in place.
According to Eni, the new petroleum agreement further enables the company to enlarge its existing position in Morocco, coming in line with its strategy to diversify exploration portfolio in basins with high hydrocarbon potential.
Eni is present in Morocco through its operatorship in the Rabat Deep Offshore license, where it holds a share of 40 per cent, with ONHYM and Woodside holding 25 per cent each and Chariot holding 10 per cent. Eni also has a 75 per cent share at the El Jadida Offshore license, where ONHYM retains 25 per cent of stake.
In another statement released on 20 December 2017, Eni announced to start production from Egypt’s Zohr gas field, which is one of the largest natural gas fields in the Mediterranean region. Initially, the production will be around 350mn cf per day, with the daily output expecting to reach to one billion cf in June 2018 and 2.7bn by the end of 2019.
