LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Morocco-focused upstream gas company Sound Energy announced on Monday that, following its initial success in eastern Morocco and in anticipation of the forthcoming drilling programme, the start of the process of converting the existing 27.5% synthetic interests held by an affiliate of Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings in the Tendrara Lakbir permits, the Anoual permits and the Matarka reconnaissance licence into 27.5% joint venture licence participating interests in the Eastern Morocco contract area.
The AIM-traded firm said it would remain the operator of the Eastern Morocco portfolio.

It said that, in accordance with Moroccan requirements, the conversion of Schlumberger's interests remained subject to the approval of the licence joint venture partners and the relevant Moroccan ministries.

The company's interests in the Eastern Morocco portfolio consisted of an operated 47.5% participating interest, with the remaining interests in the portfolio held 27.5% by Schlumberger pursuant to an existing field management agreement entered into with Sound Energy, prior to the interest conversion now initiated, and 25% by Morocco's L'Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines.

Sound Energy also confirmed that it entered into a revised field management agreement with Schlumberger, which re-confirmed the parties' "materially unchanged" working relationship post-conversion and their intention to continue to collaborate strategically across their interests in the Eastern Morocco portfolio, including in relation to the development of the existing Tendrara discovery and to the drilling at Tendrara, where Sound Energy and Schlumberger had now approved the first two defined wells, namely TE-9 and TE-10.

Following the recent application for a development concession relating to the Tendrara gas discovery, Sound Energy and its licence joint venture partners reportedly intended to apply for a new eight-year petroleum agreement over the entire combined Eastern Morocco portfolio area, except the areas relating to the development concession and to the Anoual petroleum agreement, shortly.

"I am delighted to have begun the process of bringing Schlumberger directly onto the various licences in Eastern Morocco and look forward to further drilling success together," said Sound Energy chief executive officer James Parsons.

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