Predator Oil & Gas has started drilling a new gas well in Guercif to find out whether the gas found in the area can be produced commercially. Drilling on the MOU-6 well started on 19 September and should take up to 20 days, according to a regulatory filing published in London on 21 September.
The well is expected to reach about 925 metres. Drilling should take 12 to 14 days, followed by testing and other work inside the well.
MOU-6 will target gas-bearing areas found at the MOU-3 well in 2023. That well found several gas zones, but damage to the formations during drilling made it difficult to determine how much gas they could produce.
Predator has changed its drilling approach for MOU-6. The company is using different drilling fluids and tighter pressure controls to reduce the risk of damaging the gas-bearing formations.
The main question is simple: can the well produce gas at a steady commercial rate?
An independent technical report estimates that the two main targets could contain about 123bn cubic feet of recoverable gas, or almost 3.5bn cubic metres.
MOU-6 will also test a much larger potential gas area covering about 81 sq km. Its estimated recoverable resources stand at 664.5bn cubic feet, or nearly 19bn cubic metres.
Those larger figures are still prospective resources. Drilling must confirm that the gas is there and that it extends across the area.
Predator plans to start small if the tests are successful. The company could sell the gas to industrial customers in Morocco as compressed natural gas, transported by trucks.
The initial plan is based on production of up to 20m cubic feet of gas per day. This would allow the company to start supplying customers without first building a new pipeline.
A larger project could later connect to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, which is less than 10km from the wells.
Predator holds a 75% interest in the Guercif petroleum agreement and operates the project with the state-owned Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), which owns the remaining 25%.
The company also faces a tight deadline. The first extension period of the Guercif licence ends on 5 November 2026.
The drilling rig for MOU-6, Rig 101, was supplied by Intrepid Drilling under a contract covering operations through early November.
The rig was moved from the MOU-5 site before drilling started. Equipment needed for the well tests, including materials for perforating guns, has also arrived at a Moroccan port.
The drilling itself will not prove that Guercif can become a commercial gas project. The key result will come from flow tests, which will show whether the well can produce gas at a sustainable rate.
A successful result would allow Predator to move towards an exploitation concession and seek financing for an initial gas project in Guercif.
