INTERNATIONAL BRIEF

Spotlight on . . MOROCCO By George Tappan

Morocco's new hydrocarbon law, approved by Parliament May 22, 1991, offers a number of incentives to concessionaries who begin commercial production within ten years of the date of publication of the new law.

Amortization at 200% of all costs and expenses incurred in drilling exploration and evaluation wells: - during a 3-year period from the effective date of the law

for existing exploration permits and exploitation con- cessions;

- during a 4-year period from the granting date of new exploration permits.

Government interest can be limited to 35%. No royalty on first 4MM tons production. No obligation to contribute production to the domestic need. Exemption from Petroleum Duty (surtax) for three years from initial production. Exemption from Surface Tax for all exploration permits granted within 10 years.

In addition, the concession agreement has no signature bonus obligation, tax rates are low and negotiable, materials and equipment unavailable locally may be imported duty- free, and produced oil and gas may be exported freely. There is no currency control, and profits may be repatriated. (See International Exploration Newsletter, June 11, 1990.)

Morocco imports almost all its oil, about 5MM tons/ year (36.7MM barrels/year). Oil, gas, and condensate have been produced from a number of small fields in the Rharb Basin and Pre-Rif Areas onshore north- western Morocco, and from the Essaouira Basin to the south, but local production is no more than 60,000 barrels per year.

Two major refineries, one at Mohammadia, near Casablanca, and the other at Sidi Kacem, process imported oil and have ample capacity for larger volumes of throughput.

Petroleum exploration has reached all of Morocco's onshore sedimentary basins to some extent, but none have been fully explored. All onshore permits currently in force are held by the government petroleum entity, Office National de Recherches et d'Exploitations Petrolieres (ONAREP). Of these, nine are under contract with Societe Cherifienne de Petrole (SCP). Maxus Energy also has a non-exclusive technical evalua- tion agreement on a 44,500 sq km study area between the High and Middle Atlas, east of Marrakech.

Texaco/Maroc Casablanca, Inc., AGIP Africa,

Reprmted w ~ t h permlssron from International Explorat~on Newsletter, Vol. 3, August 19, 1991.

Ltd., Shell, and Walter International Morocco Inc. hold Atlantic offshore permits in conjunction with ONAREP. Mobil, Philips, Conoco, SNEAP, and Amoco have explored offshore in the past, but to date only 28 wells have been drilled offshore. Three found oil shows. Three had shows of gas, and 22 were dry. Five were drilled by JOIDES as part of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Present exploration activity is concentrated in the Moroccan Meseta Platform and the northern part of the Aaiun-Tarfaya Basin.

The Moroccan Atlantic offshore is comprised of several geologically distinct areas which are seaward extensions of their onshore counterparts. All were developed as part of the passive continental margin following the Jurassic open- ing of the Atlantic. Shelf-margin sediments overlie conti- nental clastics and evaporites accumulated in the early rift system which was developed on the Paleozoic.

Rif and Rharb Domain The northernmost area, the Rif tectonic domain, is an

Alpine fold belt superimposed on a Pre-Rif nappe. The complex tectonics and related sedimentation are the result of the Tertiary collision and subduction of the African and Eurasian plates. These events formed a massive accretion- ary wedge with southwestward thrusting and folding along the Alpine front. The southwestern portion, the Rharb Basin, is a late Miocene-Pleistocene foreland which escaped major Tertiary deformation, but received massive late

MOROCCO

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Bu l l e t~n Houston Geolog~cal Soc~ety. January 1992

Meseta P la t fo rm T i i i Mc~!c~>ic-.in M ~ s e t a P l~ t l o rm . oiishore RahatCasa.

hl;,ni;>, h;,z not h w n drilled. 1,111 T ~ s a c u and Moroc liavc p.,rniits f ~ r r t l irt*r 2000 sq kn i blocks o n whicl i they have 1prsqi"wi .) I ISSSiMM seismic and drilling prt~!grani. The nnrtherr, ! ~ . ~ I f ~ - ~ ~ r i s t s r s o f P a l e o z o t c lolded t l y ~ ~ - i i . overlain by i t s tnui-!I .i< 3 r W m o i ,Iurassic.Crerace~~~ii.: continental passti.i,.tl::r qirr wc i imrnt i . . ~ n d a Tertiary hasin tvlth Alpine d e l i i t n 1Jncier r!ic smtthern hall. .i ili in cover of ~ r i t r r L x d r l d marine and ctmlinental Mesrirt~ic:-Tertiary sedi. mur:t\ IIV.: ~in~.on!c.~rniat~lv on at leas! hUOOni of folded and t;r~~itvcl I'IIICIZOIC. TheTur<mian, Cenotnamim, and Miocenc: i i ~ v t l r ~ ~ i ~ u : ~ : incontamimportant source rocks in thenorth. In t i I yo r l i cm i r i t l interpretation suggests the Orclni.tc.~n. Siluri,trl. and Lower Devonian shales are within the toil witidow. Thr. hc?;l reservoirs are cspected !o lw in .Jtrra.;sic crirbcrnates. Triassic conglomerates. and Cre tawoi ls sandstrmcs. Broad, faulted traps are expecled in ~ h r Rabat area, large anticlines in the Lower Paleozoic rdated ti, I~+t r i r In~tlrs ofishore Casablanca.

Saf i A rea N o \wlIs h a w been drilled in the Safi arm, ofishore

extension r11 the Doukkalct basin, but 12 oil and 3 potash esplorat i lm wells were drilledonshore. The thickness of the undiitereritiated Paleozoic IS unknown, hut gravity and magnetic. wggest thick Permo.Traissic volcanics. The Jurassc I:, assumed corrrlalive t o the onshore platform carhoriatc, arid shale sectton, and a thin Cretaceous prob- ahlv rons~sts ni fine rlastics and thin carbonates. Marine Silurian irnd Devonian shales are likely source rocks, and mid-Uevun~ari carhonates, Permo-Carboniferous and Tri. assic corit~nental sandstones, and Jurassic carbonates and cl<~stir.< ;>re r,otential reservoirs. Alth(iugh much is inferred. !hc av~i lah lc seismtr data indicates structural traps in !he form ot ;~nttci~nvs <mrl rotated fatllt blocks, and erosional pinrho~lt , i i r the Paleorotc and Triassic.

Essaouira Area 1.Iirt I'swouira oifshorc is a MesozoicCcnozoic basin

dmmc40prt! over Palrozolc withnorth.soulIi Hercynian struc- twill trends. A thick, n>oclestly-deforn~ed Mesozoiccarhon- .ilr t>l;,tfc,r-m wiih p,irallel northeaststrlking ridges csrnds n<>rt l~u,arr l into thv Saft area. ThrMc,%ozoic-Cen<~>7oir hasm 1s cont:riiinuc to the south. hut the Essaouira area is separateit tra)ni !lie Ag;rdi!- offshore by a I r ~qnwn tad Paleo- zolc ;,rQ , ' I , : niishore cstc.l)\l<rn of the high A t l x trend.

I!w norttwrn part ( 1 1 t l i ~ , area is char.tctcrized hy large s r ; ~ i v ; ~ r ~ l ~ ~ ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i n g l i s t r i c i x I t < . SAt dial>ir.;<~<.<.l~rt~i,er mo+t < > I tlrr. ~ d i . : ! ~ ~ ~ ! ~ as wcll ;IS the adtac~nt onshore T h r sail

<<>(.!in!: ,,.. I ~w th t t i ,pIacv in Tti,>,5i,~ .E,:-,. ; t :r:?~<i,: qai! f:llwl ~ ~ r ~ + ~ w , r i ~ , ;!nc! mnbiIi,:ccl Si>lt t<:c:on:,:- -2 I : , , ,rt.. pr, l ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ n c c ~ ~ l 1 8 ,w;~rci : I iv ~ 3 ~ 1 t h d i ~ r r $1 +hi,:kcr r w r ! !wtciw> ha5 ~IICI:>CV~ l l l < , l 8 ~ ,lClI,." t~l,lY~'t:lP!l:

T I I t r n i r n i : i i l : i n I lc\s ir,r~tit iuo~tsly irorn .11trassic roiia!:; C :3 , r . i c~o~ tc ;~ i~~ : r which il w;15 sc,nli.d Ihv tI1il.k Middle .?ri,i I..,!:v i r ;? r~ j - r !w l< .;h;ilc.s v;:!;i ! h n , ~ a r ! v ~ n ~ ! t ~ inter~'als. (lrq?mi,.~ ?ic5 O ~ l < ~ r O i a ~ i niarl and s h i p , tinown from the orl5hir1c iect!nn, rii;:v provide source matcrtid oilshore. Ttic he51 rewrvmr rc~cks are porous .lur;isstc carhonate.: ;I! the sholt tmi>rqi~i Another potenii;d ri:wrwoir is s '10 1OiIm sancl hod$: uw;llly f o ~ ~ n d ,TI the corr!act Ihdween the salt and t i e Ei~rli; . i t ~ r a s s ~ carhon. ate. The area has numerous pos+il~~l~!:c;. ior s t ruct~~ra l . srrattgraphic, salt-r~l~ated, and r e r i d ~ ~ h i . : traps.

l h t e e offshore wells have hecri i!:-iilrd to ciate. Twr-I. dri l lrd on a Juras ic carhonate hank, iuund traces ~i hyrlt-ocarbons. The third, drilled on ~i salt structure, pene~ tr,>ted Cenomanian and Albian rla<tic-; ;md terminated i r i Larc Jurassic carhnnare. Tiitr:? !our e.xnluratinn. ;tncl 46 rlevelopment we115 have been clril!cd onsilore

Souss D o m a i n Ttrc S,,u.;s-Agadir oifshnre area developed at t h ~ r i reo i

a failed arm of the Triassic-Early .Jurass~c ri l l system. The northern limlt is represented by the Sr~u th Atlas Fairk. The earliest recognized unit. a Triassic salt of urtknwm thick. ness, is o ~ v r l ~ i i n by thick Jurassic platiorni carhonares. Cre- taceous shale which I hickens seaward, and Tertiary elastics.

Early Cretaceous shales, deeplv huried in front o l the Jurassic shell edge, are important lment ial source rocks.

t,,, 1 . " 1 , , , " . . . : , ,, 1,. I,," .,> 13-2

Infi Area This arrawas the recil>~\v!il nlover lfl.OfllJm < t i Mrsozoir

and C r t i ~ ~ / n i c iedimrnt nwrlv ing Paleozrric: insrwcnt . The Psletr~nis i; an d!shorcr vxtlviaiun o i the Atr:i t l , i s . de- doped dur~nq t le rc~ .~ i ia t i compression. Thick I'rt;t.;.ic and Eariy Jura\si<- ;~ll~ivial fans ;tnd nt h w clastics ; ~ c c ~ ~ m ~ ~ l ; ~ t c c l in g rahex n i e r i g P i I r i s t c i n . Sdt de~ l~nsi ted in Triassic trnughs w;ls l;~ter niohili?erl ,d<)nq thc I ) x i n m a q n during the Jarasiir. L r l v Jurassic ~,l.itlorm carbonates d e d n p c d seawrd cnntcrnporntieuu+! wirh ncnrshure c l ~ s t l l ~ iacies. and pt.nniincwt shel!ed:~c r c d tiinunds. which may r m c h a thickness o i 150lOm. i,,rmvcl rlitrtns Early atid Middle Jurassic. A n extensive lagonti;tl r o m p l r ~ shoren.arc! CII r h ~ platform nwy lh;ivc pnlenti,d intlr<.P rnrks. 1.11~ Jitrassic is m a r l i d !N a u'idesprear! o-osiond surface [hat enhanc~d porositv by karstilicatlon.

Nuni.-:nus unteslecl prospects in less lhan 1.50ni of water i!iciltde anticlines, . i a l t . r ~ l i ~ t ~ d s t r ~ t ~ t ~ t r o s . fixti! blocks. carbonatr hank martins, r e d rnottnds. atid s:r.ttigritphic traps. Onlv one ~:xploration well wx drilled to clatv. Oil and gas shows were lound in the Jurassic and C re f c~~ecws . AGIP and Shell currently hold t l i r r r \>locks each in th.; nfi.;liore area.

Tarlaya-Laavoune-Dakhla Areas This Innil .;!retch o l conlincntal shell is stniilar in nrost

respects l o the areas :o the north. I t is a passive margin basin huilt on L.;rtr Triassic rifting, continental red h e d ~ , and Late Triassic to Early Jurassic cvaportte-filled g r~hcns . followed hy gradual si~bsidence and developnienl nf es t r r l ~ siveJurasstc carbonaleplatiorrns. Ulhfl ofCretaceniisI;lrtd i t r~ws to the east producrd an iricreare o l detrital n i i ~ t ~ r i n l providing source and seal for the carlamate reservo~l-s.

Esso drilled '2 wells between I%? and 1975. Irlohil clrilled the Cap Juhy dtccovery in 19fill. Amoco drilled T m Tar.1 in 1985, and W2lter lnternatimal, u,htch still l io ldi a permit. drilled the T;lriilva-l in 1990. Esso's MO-2 tested 2377 h d 1 I' API oil from ;? Late Jurassic carbonate margin at 2105m. A variety 01 structural and s~ratigraphic traps remain ICI be tested in llm largeoilshore area. T~ventyn ine uells have heen drilled onshore

Despite l h ~ concrntration o l drtlling inMeseta Platinrrn and the Tarlaya R ~ ~ I P the Atlantic ofkl iore remains grossly ~tnder~euplored, Miiriv l.xge structurvs and potential tritp.; have h e m recognwxl tr<jrn the regional se~+rnic grid, vvt fewer than 25 have been tested with the drill.

REFERENCES:

CONTACTS: Mr. M'narek Ali Mouh5tne Petr<,lvrinl Participants Uirector ONAHFF 1 7 . Av. Mtchlilen Agdnl. Rabat. Morocco T(dvphrmr: 212 77721 bfl & 70505 Fax: ?I:! 77758.66 . Tr4ex: ?!..IS M