Morocco natural gas reserves emerging

Morocco could be emerging as a major regional player in terms of potential natural gas production, companies working on fledgling campaigns there said Monday.

Morocco is one of the West African countries that have drawn interest from international energy companies eager to tap into unexploited reserves.

Circle Oil, a British energy company focused on Middle East and North Africa, announced what it considers to be a significant natural gas discovery in Morocco. The company said it achieved production from its Sebou permit area in the country at a sustained test rate of 8 million cubic feet per day.

"We believe that this well will add significant volumes to our reserves for potential gas production and at rates not subject to oil price fluctuation," Circle Oil Chief Executive Officer Chris Green said in a statement.

Oil prices are trading far below their June values of around $100 per barrel, constraining the capital some companies have available for exploration and production operations.

Rival Gulfsands Petroleum said in a separate statement Monday preliminary surveys in Morocco revealed good prospects for natural gas in the Rharb permit area.

Gulfsands CEO Mahdi Sajjad said he was "very pleased" with the operations and looked forward to strong momentum going forward.

Onshore, the country Morocco holds about 20 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale oil and natural gas reserves.

Offshore remains relatively underexplored. In November, Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum said it was stepping further into frontier oil territory with an exploration deal in a block known as the Rabat Ultra Deep Offshore area.