RABAT, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 164 million U.S. dollars is expected to be invested in oil and gas exploration operations in Morocco this year, local media reported on Monday.

According to financial daily L'Economiste, the investments will be dedicated to six wells, including one offshore.

In 2017, exploration investments exceeded 130 million U.S. dollars and covered a surface area of 170,000 square kilometers, the same source said.

During the same year, the north African kingdom issued some 22 onshore and 77 offshore licenses as well as 9 exploitation permissions, it noted.

Between 2000 and 2017, Morocco's total investments in oil and gas explorations onshore and offshore totalled 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, 96 percent of which was paid by partners of the Moroccan state-owned hydrocarbons and mining office.