Drilled to a total depth of 7806ft, the SD-4X well had encountered 89ft of net conventional natural gas pay in the Abu Madi horizon.

SDX said that the well came in on prognosis with a reservoir section of similar quality but thicker than the original SD-1X discovery well.

The firm plans to complete the well as a producer in the Abu Madi and test it after the drilling rig has moved off location. The testing is scheduled to begin between 30 and 45 days after the rig departs.

The well, subject to successful test, will be connected to the infrastructure located adjacent to the original SD-1X discovery. Production from the SD-1X is planned in the 4th quarter of this year.

After completion, the rig will move to the SD-3X well which is the second of two appraisal locations included in the 2018 development program.

Additionally, SDX said it has completed well test program in the LMS-1 well in the Lalla Mimouna Nord permit in Morocco.

 SDX president and CEO Paul Welch said: “We are extremely encouraged by today’s result at South Disouq. We had anticipated a thickening of the pay section as we moved away from the crest of the structure, and this has now been confirmed.

“We will now accelerate our development activity in the area. It’s our intent to establish production from both the South Disouq and Ibn Yunus areas before year end 2018. These results demonstrate the significant potential we see in this area.

“At LMS-1, we were very surprised by the results of the flow test. The well flowed a significant amount of gas whist drilling requiring the drilling mud weight to be increased to control the well so it could be logged and completed.”

The SD-4X well is the company’s first of two planned appraisal wells in the 2018 drilling campaign at South Disouq.