Woodside to further explore Morocco

Mining giant Woodside Petroleum will expand its presence off the Moroccan coast after entering into a contract with the country's national oil company for a licence to explore another block of the Doukkala basin.

The block, known as the Rabat Ultra Deep offshore area, comprises a total of 36,737 square kilometres with depths ranging from 1.7km to 4.4km.

It is located west of the Rabat Deep offshore I-VI permits, in which Woodside acquired a 25 per cent interest after signing an agreement with London-based Chariot Oil & Gas in July.

Woodside said work under the licence includes a seismic survey and studies, which will be carried out over 12 months.

Shares in Woodside were 0.2 per cent higher at $39.44 per share at 9:50am.