Prospex Energy, the AIM quoted investment company focused on European gas and power projects, has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with the IMMAGE (Investigating Miocene Mediterranean-Atlantic Gateway Exchange) Land-2-Sea drilling project in relation to the Romeral concession. IMMAGE is an international scientific drilling initiative investigating the impact of the Messinian Salinity Crisis on global climate.
These investigations will target cores recovered from the wells to be drilled by Prospex within the five well programme which is currently awaiting permits. The coring is funded by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP).
IMMAGE-Prospex Collaboration Highlights
- IMMAGE will contribute up to US$1.5 million to cover coring and logging operations of the late Miocene to Pliocene sequence in a subset of of the Romeral planned wells - ensuring Prospex incurs no additional costs for this research.
- Increased global visibility of the El Romeral Project through participation in a high-profile palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental research programme
Under the terms of the agreement Tarba Energía, where Prospex holds a 100% ownership interest, will provide access to the drilling sites during the drilling operations. Tarba and Prospex will support the IMMAGE project scientists in the recovery of cores and transport to the core repository, with the help of a specialist company.
Tom Reynolds, Prospex's CEO, commented:
'We are delighted to be able to combine the drilling programme to be undertaken by Tarba at El Romeral with important science being carried out by the IMMAGE project. This is a mutually beneficial collaboration for both academic research and industry. The additional core and data will significantly increase our understanding of the reservoir geology and support efficient recovery of the energy resource at Romeral.'
About the IMMAGE Project
Investigating Miocene Mediterranean-Atlantic Gateway Exchange
IMMAGE is an ambitious scientific drilling and climate research project designed to recover sediments that record Atlantic -Mediterranean exchange 8 - 4 million years ago. This record is critical for understanding the role of the Mediterranean outflow in driving climate change at a time when the connection between the two marine systems was shrinking, causing Mediterranean salinity to rise. This led to the formation of a salt giant, a c. 1.5km layer of salt that precipitated across the Mediterranean Sea floor. This event, known as the 'Messinian Salinity Crisis', changed both the chemistry of the ocean and altered its circulation pattern.
Today, the Mediterranean connects to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar. This single gateway configuration only developed ~ 5 million years ago. Before that, a wide, open seaway evolved into two narrow corridors: one in northern Morocco, the other in southern Spain. Records from both sides of the Gibraltar Strait, and from these ancient marine connections, which are now buried on land, are critical to understanding the climate impact of Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange before, during, and after salt giant formation. IMMAGE is recovering these records by drilling offshore with the Integrated Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) and onshore in Spain and Morocco with the International Continental Scientific Drilling Project (ICDP).
IODP Expedition 401 carried out scientific drilling on either side of the Gibraltar Strait in December 2023 - February 2024. Phase-2 drilling to recover the record of exchange preserved in Spain is planned for 2027-28 and is being supported by ICDP. Initial planning for IMMAGE Phase-3 drilling in Morocco is underway.
IMMAGE Land-2-Sea Website link: https://www.immageland2sea.ac.uk/
Source: Prospex Energy
