Morocco prepares port infrastructure for LNG imports

The Moroccan government is preparing ports for imports of liquefied natural gas to boost reserves after Algeria pulled gas supplies through a pipeline, according to the country’s energy minister.

Leila Benali said the infrastructure will help private LNG importers lower the cost of LNG exports, according to members of parliament.

The Energy Department is also considering financial and gas supply details for a future floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that would provide for all of Morocco’s gas needs.

A source said that Tangier was added as a possible location for the FSRU, where it could connect to the now-dissolved Algeria-Spain pipeline.

Following a year of tumultuous relations between Algiers and Rabat before, Algeria said it would supply Spain through ‘a different pipeline’ and would no longer send gas to Morocco. The pipeline agreement expired on October 31, 2021.

Morocco’s local gas production is expected to rise to 110 million cubic metres by the end of 2021, while its annual consumption is estimated at 1 billion cubic metres. Most of it was once supplied by the halted pipeline.

Morocco’s natural gas needs will quadruple to 3 billion cubic metres by 2040, as the country seeks to use LNG to boost its low-carbon transition and address the region’s shaky supply of renewable fuels, according to Benali.

The minister also confirmed reports that Morocco intends to increase its renewable energy target to over 52 percent of the energy mix by 2025.

For more information visit www.mem.gov.ma