San Leon Energy has announced that it has been awarded a 36 sq km block in the Timahdit oil shale deposit onshore Morocco
According to reports, the block is considered to hold the highest shale oil yield in the North African country.
The company said that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Moroccan state energy company Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) to acquire exclusive rights to the block.
The Timahdit deposit in the awarded area yields an average of 99 litres per tonne of shale oil in the rich layers. It is also considered to have significantly less moisture content than many other international oil shale deposits, San Leon Energy added.
Over a two-year period, the company has plans to evaluate the commercial viability of a surface retorting project.
Oisin Fanning, chairman of San Leon Energy, said, “ The awarding of Timahdit demonstrated the company’s commitment to establishing a major shale oil project in Morocco.”
