Chevron makes move on offshore Morocco

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SAN RAMON, Calif., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Signing agreements for work in deep-water areas off Morocco gives Chevron the opportunity to expand into frontier basins, a company chairman said.

Chevron Corp., which has headquarters in California, said its Moroccan subsidiary signed agreements with the government there for work in three offshore areas.

"We look forward to participating in exploration activities in Morocco, which provides Chevron an opportunity to advance our growth strategy in frontier basins," Chevron Vice Chairman George Kirkland said in a statement.

Morocco has seen growing interest from international oil and natural gas companies. U.S. company Plains Exploration and Production, Gulfsands Petroleum, based in London, and Turkish company Genel Energy have all made similar moves on the emerging Moroccan market.

The CIA World Factbook estimates that, as of January 2012, Morocco had proven oil reserves of around 680,000 barrels, 99th in the world. Natural gas estimates from 2012 were at 49 billion cubic feet, 98th in the world.