Predator Oil & Gas Holdings amends rig contract to drill MOU-6 well in Morocco starting August 2026

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings has amended its rig contract with Intrepid Drilling Limited to drill the MOU-6 well in Morocco. Operations are scheduled to run from August 1 to October 1, 2026. The Jersey-based company confirmed the amendment to the existing agreement—originally signed in October 2022—covers Rig 101, currently stacked at the nearby MOU-5 well site. MOU-6 is the first well in a back-to-back drilling program that also includes a well in Trinidad.

Predator amends rig contract for MOU-6 drilling in Morocco

The amendment formally extends Rig 101’s engagement to cover MOU-6 operations between August 1 and October 1, 2026. That two-month window gives Predator a defined timeline for what it calls a new phase of drilling activity across two continents.

Rig 101 is already stacked at the MOU-5 site in Morocco, which puts it exactly where it needs to be. Skipping a full mobilization saves both cost and time—a genuine practical advantage as the company heads into what it expects to be a busy stretch of operations.

MOU-6 is the first well in a back-to-back program that also includes the Snowcap-3 well in Trinidad, with the full campaign expected to span roughly three months.

Intrepid Drilling Limited, the contractor behind Rig 101, was previously called Star Valley Drilling Limited. The name change doesn’t affect the contractual relationship, which traces back to the original October 2022 agreement. This amendment simply stretches that existing framework to cover the MOU-6 scope.

Drilling timeline contingent on delivery of equipment

August 1 isn’t a hard launch date—it’s a floor. Rig 101 is contracted to start after August 1, 2026, with exact timing tied to the final delivery of third-party consumables and long-lead equipment currently in transit to the MOU-6 site.

Long-lead items are components with extended manufacturing or shipping timelines: specialized wellhead equipment, casing, and drilling tools. They can’t be sourced quickly, and their arrival typically sets the pace for an entire drilling campaign. Tracking that delivery is critical.

Once MOU-6 wraps up, the program moves to Trinidad for the Snowcap-3 well—two wells planned back-to-back, forming a drilling and potential testing campaign Predator expects to complete in roughly three months total. MOU-6 goes first, so any delays in Morocco will ripple into the Trinidad timeline. The August-to-October contract window does build in some buffer before Snowcap-3 kicks off, though Predator hasn’t publicly outlined contingency plans if equipment delivery slips.

The company aims to de-risk gas and oil resources through well testing

The commercial logic here centers on de-risking. CEO Paul Griffiths was direct about it in the company’s announcement: successful drilling and potential testing of geological objectives “may facilitate the de-risking of gas and oil resources that are capable of being brought into potential production within a short time framework.”

That’s deliberately cautious language. De-risking doesn’t mean confirming a commercial discovery—it means gathering enough data to reduce uncertainty about what’s actually in the ground. Whether that leads to production depends on further technical and commercial due diligence, plus the necessary regulatory approvals in each country.

Griffiths also pointed to the 15 months Predator spent rebuilding its well-delivery team ahead of this campaign. That team draws on expertise from Trinidad, Morocco, Tunisia, and Canada, reflecting how technically demanding it is to operate across multiple regulatory and geological environments. He expressed confidence that well planning and pre-drill operational programs are now aligned with expected subsurface conditions—confidence shaped by the company’s earlier drilling work between 2021 and 2023.

Background: Predator’s exploration focus in Morocco and Trinidad

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings is a Jersey-based company with a dual-geography strategy: producing hydrocarbon operations in Trinidad and active exploration in Morocco. The upcoming two-well program touches both sides of that portfolio at once.

The MOU-series wells in Morocco were first drilled between 2021 and 2023. That initial campaign generated the subsurface data underpinning Predator’s current geological models and informing how MOU-6 is designed. This isn’t a blind bet—it builds on several years of accumulated knowledge about what lies beneath the Moroccan acreage.

Intrepid Drilling Limited, formerly Star Valley Drilling Limited, has been Predator’s rig contractor since the original 2022 agreement. Extending rather than replacing that contract suggests a working relationship both parties are comfortable carrying into the next phase.

Expertise from four countries

Predator Oil & Gas has formally amended its rig contract with Intrepid Drilling Limited to drill the MOU-6 well in Morocco, with operations set to begin after August 1, 2026, and conclude by October 1. Rig 101 is already stacked at the nearby MOU-5 site and will get to work once remaining equipment—currently in transit—reaches the well site.

MOU-6 is the first well in a back-to-back program that also includes the Snowcap-3 well in Trinidad, with the full campaign expected to span roughly three months. Predator’s goal is to de-risk gas and oil resources that could potentially move toward production, subject to regulatory approvals and due diligence. The company spent 15 months rebuilding its well-delivery team ahead of this phase, drawing on expertise from four countries.

Kelly Lippke

Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.