PROACTIVE INVESTORS UK
by Jamie Ashcroft
The work is expected to provide valuable information for an upcoming drill programme
Morocco focussed oil explorerPura Vida Energy (ASX:PVD) told investors that it has begun acquiring sea bed samples within the Mazagan permit.
The work is expected to provide valuable information for an upcoming drill programme. And it comes at a time when there is a great deal of interest in exploration projects offshore Morocco – with a number of larger industry players farming into acreage in recent weeks.
The company believe that the recovery of hydrocarbon samples from the sea bed will allow for a more accurate assessment of the working petroleum system in the block.
This technique has been used by oil companies to improve confidence prior to drill programmes for over 20 years in Africa, South America and North America, it explained.
“Drop cores are acquired in deep water with the intent to site locations where hydrocarbons are migrating to the sea bed,” the company said in a stock market statement.
“Locations for testing are selected where there may be migration pathways to the sea floor from areas where the hydrocarbon source rocks are interpreted to be expelling hydrocarbons.”
Each core sample is around 7 metres long. Pura Vida has hired specialist contractor TDI-Brooks International to acquire a total of 67 core samples from the ocean floor.
Pura Vida explains that TDI-Brooks will subsequently assess the samples at its laboratory, where they will be scanned for evidence of fluorescence (an indicator of hydrocarbons) and/or associated gas. Should this prove successful further sampling and analysis will be carried out by another specialist to determine more.
It is expected that the sampling will be completed by mid-September and the preliminary results will be due in October. Pura Vida says the cost of the programme will be less than $1 million.
