Morocco’s Ministry of Energy is expected to launch a tender within the next few weeks to construct a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the port of Nador, with financial closure for the project expected in 2025, and construction, operation, and commercial phases beginning in 2026.
The directorate of the Oil and Gas Sector at the Ministry announced that the tender will be launched this summer, reported Reuters on May 31, 2024.
The LNG terminal will be connected to a gas pipeline, allowing Morocco to import 500 million cubic meters of liquefied gas annually from Spanish stations, sufficient to operate two small electrical plants.
Additionally, Morocco plans to extend this pipeline to gas fields in its eastern and western regions.
The port of Nador, located on the Mediterranean Sea, is envisioned as Morocco’s first entry point into the LNG sector, as previously stated by Minister Leila Ben Ali.
In April 2024, the Ministry revealed plans to build three LNG conversion stations in the short, medium, and long term: one at the port of Nador and two others on the Atlantic coast, as part of a “strategic agreement protocol” signed in March between the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Equipment and Water, and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, which seeks to “launch the sustainable infrastructure roadmap for liquefied natural gas.”
According to official data from the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, the project also aims to “strengthen coordination between public authorities to implement a program to develop sustainable gas infrastructure.”
This effort includes the participation of five public institutions and companies: the National Ports Agency, the National Office of Electricity and Potable Water, the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, the Nador Western Mediterranean Company, and the National Highway Company of Morocco.
The “multi-year” program aims to provide Morocco with numerous entry points for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and to develop infrastructure for storing and transporting natural gas. In the short term, the program focuses on supporting gas pipelines that connect local gas-producing basins to consumers and developing an LNG import station at the port of Nador. This station will also connect to the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline.
In the long term, Morocco’s energy strategy includes accelerating the development of renewable energies, increasing the country’s capacity for green hydrogen production, and advancing the African-Atlantic gas pipeline project.
By planning to use natural gas in high-efficiency electricity generation plants, the country aims to generate the same amount of energy at a lower cost and with a smaller carbon footprint.
This initiative involves logistics, transportation, production, and storage stations, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to energy infrastructure, said Abdsamad Malaoui, a professor specializing in energy technologies and sustainable energy transformation,
He further explained that rehabilitating the natural gas infrastructure aligns with Morocco’s regional cooperation and partnerships with African countries, particularly concerning the continental gas pipeline project.
This infrastructure development is crucial for Morocco’s energy transition, which aims to replace oil and coal with gas by 2030, in conjunction with the Nigeria-Morocco gas project and local gas exploration efforts.
Establishing LNG stations in the Atlantic ports of Nador and Dakhla is part of Morocco’s strategy to diversify international energy sources and reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuels. Additional stations are planned for Tangier, Jorf Lasfar, and Mohammedia ports.
According to Malaoui, Morocco imported about 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 3 billion cubic meters of LNG between 2021-2022.
Sixty percent of this gas is used for electricity generation, while the remaining 40 percent is split between industrial (20 percent) and household (20 percent) uses.
Developing gas infrastructure aims to reduce costs and environmental impacts across the value chain, from import to distribution. Malawi emphasized that Morocco needs a transitional period of 10 to 15 years to replace certain industrial practices reliant on polluting fossil fuels.
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