News
Monday 20 June 2022

LNG: Morocco Will Soon Sign a First Purchase Contract on the International Market (Minister)

LNG: Morocco Will Soon Sign a First Purchase Contract on the International Market (Minister)

Morocco, which has succeeded for the first time in its history to enter the international liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, has received dozens of offers which were examined by an ad hoc commission and will sign a first purchase contract this week, the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, announced on Monday.

The minister, who was speaking during a plenary session at the House of Representatives, stressed that these offers were the subject of an accelerated and meticulous procedure of examination and negotiation with international companies, which was carried out by a special commission created for this purpose.

The Kingdom has put in place an emergency plan to secure its electricity supply, which requires half a billion cubic of natural gas per year, in the short term, she said, adding that the overall capacity storage of petroleum products in Morocco is 1.8 million tons covering 57 days of national consumption.

The official underlined that the Algerian decision not to renew the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline contract had no impact on the production of electricity in Morocco, and did not cause any shortage or impact on Morocco's electricity needs.

Regarding the ministry's strategy to ensure the Kingdom's energy supply, she said that within the framework of the ambitious policy advocated by Morocco to increase its reserve stock and meet the country's needs, her department monitors and accelerates the implementation of projects scheduled by private operators to achieve an overall storage capacity for petroleum products of some 777,000 m3 for a budget of 2.7 billion dirhams by 2023.

She added that the ministry is considering the establishment of a new mode of management of the reserve stock within the framework of a public-private partnership, in addition to an institutional reorganization to ensure better monitoring of these projects.

MAP 20 June 2022