Sound Energy received an option to acquire a 55% interest in the Meridja permit onshore Morocco through a binding agreement it signed with Oil & Gas Investment Fund SAS (OGIF), Sound Energy said Feb. 8. The option also allows Sound Energy to become operator.

James Parsons, CEO, said the U.K.-based company entered Morocco last year.

Meridja is adjacent to Sound Energy’s Tendrara license, and it comprises 9 MM sq km. It has the same fundamental geology as Tendrara, whose first well will be drilled soon.

OGIF currently holds a 75% interest in a reconnaissance permit over the Meridja area and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures des Mines (ONHYM) holds the remaining 25%. The permit expires Aug. 1.

As consideration for the option, Sound Energy will pay OGIF US$100,000 and will conduct and fund early stage commitments up to US$200,000 under the reconnaissance permit. OGIF will receive US$150,000 when Sound Energy exercises the option; this amount will carry OGIF and ONHYM’s costs for a first exploration well at Meridja.