Chances to discover hydrocarbons in Morocco are still intact, official
Morocco, Economics, 2/12/2005

Moroccan subsoil is still unexplored and chances to discover hydrocarbons are 'still intact', said head of the national office of hydrocarbons and mining (ONHYM)

In an interview with the newspaper "La Verite" monthly, ONHYM General Director, Amina Benkhadra, said that Moroccan onshore sedimentary basins "are still unexplored, except for few drillings.

The density of onshore and offshore wells drillings are "very limited as density is of 0.04 wells per 100 km2," said Benkhadra, adding that this "is insignificant."

The director General said that research and geologic surveys undertaken by ONHYM and its partners in the onshore and offshore sedimentary basins show the existence of petroleum systems which favour the formation of hydrocarbon in the Moroccan subsoil.

She pointed out that Moroccan deep Atlantic onshore is a very coveted zone by international companies.

ONHYM and its partners invested US$ 300 mln in exploring activities in the 2000-2004 period, including US$ 240 mln in onshore and US$ 52 mln in offshore, said the same source, adding that the samples of these research are under study to identify the most promising areas and orient the coming drilling operations.

She said that chances to discover hydrocarbon for commercial distribution are "still intact and we keep hope to discover important oil wells."

Morocco is making efforts to draw in more foreign investors to explore other potential areas by providing interesting incentives as the State's share of participation is only 25pc in case of discovery. There is an exemption of income tax for the first ten years and companies can make provisions for renewing their reserves. This new law places Morocco among the top five countries for hydrocarbon investment, according to a study by a consortium of petroleum companies comparing legal frameworks in different countries.

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