The Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has approved the development of the Anchois gas project, following a 12-month EIA that included onshore and offshore environmental surveys and a public enquiry
Africa-focused transitional energy company Chariot has received the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval for its Anchois gas project offshore Morocco.
Chariot secures EIA approval for Anchois development. (Credit: Arvind Vallabh on Unsplash)
The Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has approved the company’s EIA for the development of Anchois.
Chariot said that the EIA process for Anchois was conducted over a period of 12 months.
The process included onshore and offshore environmental surveys, stakeholder engagement programmes and a public enquiry across four Moroccan provinces.
The final report outlines the necessary planning, mitigation and monitoring measures to follow during construction and production.
The EIA, which is valid for five years, integrates recommendations from Morocco’s National Environmental Committee.
It covers all aspects of the development, including future wells and offshore infrastructure, the onshore Central Process Facility and connection to the GME pipeline, said Chariot.
Chariot gas business head and Morocco country director Pierre Raillard said: “Securing approval of this EIA is a major milestone for Anchois and is the culmination of extensive time and teamwork that has gone into this critical process.
“This is a key building block for sanctioning the project’s development, alongside other activities such as our partnering process which is close to conclusion.
“On behalf of Chariot, I would like to thank the National Environmental Committee and the Ministry for their endorsement and support. I would also like to thank the Chariot team, our partner ONHYM and our consultants who collaborated so closely across all workstreams.”
The Anchois gas field is located in the Tanger-Larache exploration area of the Lixus licence, 40km off the coast of Morocco, in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was discovered by the Anchois-1 well, which was drilled in March 2009, by Dana Petroleum along with its partners Repsol and Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).
The second appraisal and exploration well, Anchois-2, was drilled to a total depth of 2,512m, using the Stena Don semi-submersible drilling platform in January last year.
Anchois-2 confirmed a net pay of 150m of good quality dry gas with more than 96% methane.
