After a five-year lull, bar Chariot’s appraisal drilling at Anchois, Eni and partners Qatar Energy and ONHYM will spud the Cinnamon 1 well in early summer 2023. Eni was the last firm to drill offshore in southern Morocco with the Rabat Deep 1 well (P&A dry) in 2018.
This new campaign is focused on more traditional oil trends north of Cap Juby and on trend with the MO wells of the 1960s and 1970s, revealing good evidence of the Jurassic oil-prone petroleum system. Eni was awarded the Tarfaya Offshore Shallow Block in 2017, for a period of 7 years. In 2019, Qatar Energy farmed in ahead of the 3D seismic acquisition and drilling campaign.
Tangiers Petroleum and Galp previously held the acreage and drilled the dry Tao 1 well (Trident and Assaka prospects) in 2014. Some 14 wells have been drilled on the block, including the MO wells, resulting in the discovery of sub-commercial oil in the Upper Jurassic at Cap Juby.
Cairn and Genel drilled Juby Maritime 1 in 2014, with more Jurassic oil shows. Eni are expected to spud Cinnamon 1 in around 100 m of water, to the northeast of Cap Juby, with oil-prone targets in the Lower Jurassic. These deeper targets may be clastic formations, compared to the Upper Jurassic play, and Eni are thought to be testing deeper targets to avoid heavier biodegraded oil in shallower reservoirs (as seen at Cap Juby). The Topaz Driller jack-up has been linked to the well.
Interestingly, Genel has plans to drill Nour Deep on the Lagzira Block to the north in 2024/25, with a view to test very large Triassic structures in around 1000 m water.