Gulfsands Petroleum makes Moroccan splash

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LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Gulfsands Petroleum, based in London, said its acquisition of a British rival gives it access to hydrocarbon concessions covering 5,100 square miles in Morocco.

Gulfsands announced the terms of a deal for the acquisition of Cabre Maroc Ltd., a subsidiary of British independent Caithness Petroleum, was completed Thursday. The acquisition entailed a cash payment of around $19 million.

"The purchase of Cabre Maroc delivers to Gulfsands a large, contiguous and highly prospective acreage position in an area with proven petroleum systems, revenues from near term production, and multiple drilling targets," the company stated.

The company announced a similar acquisition last year in Tunisia. Gulfsands operations in the Middle East were hurt last year because of the civil war in Syria.

The CIA World Factbook estimates that Morocco holds about 51 billion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Crude oil reserves are estimated at 680,000 barrels.

Drilling by Guflsands in Morocco is expected early next year. Plans for acquisition of Cabre Maroc were announced Dec. 19.