Thursday 7 September 2017

Italian operator Eni has secured a drilling rig for its upcoming exploration well at the Rabat Deep Offshore licence off the coast of Morocco.

Licence partner Chariot Oil & Gas revealed Thursday that Eni had hired the ultra-deepwater drillship Saipem 12000 to drill the RD-1 well on the JP-1 prospect.

The drillship is expected to arrive at the Rabat Deep Offshore licence during the first quarter of 2018 to drill the well which will target a four-way dip closed Jurassic-aged carbonate structure covering about 200 square kilometres.

The JP-1 prospect has been estimated to hold 768 million barrels of gross mean prospective resources.

Eni finalised a farm-in deal with Chariot earlier this year at the Rabat Deep Offshore licence in exchange for a capped carry on the drilling of the RD-1 well as well as on other geological and administrative costs and costs related to Chariot's investment prior to the farm-out.

Eni now holds a 40% operated interest in the licence, with Chariot holding 10%. The other partners include Australia’s Woodside Petroleum and state-run Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, each on 25%.