The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leïla Benali, indicated on Tuesday in Rabat that the achievement of the Kingdom’s energy security is at the heart of the government’s concerns.
Leïla Benalii, who answered an oral question on the measures taken to achieve energy security posed by the Istiqlalian Group of Unity and Egalitarianism, that energy security is one of the priorities of her Department, in particular during this situation, which is characterized by the rise in the price of petroleum products on a global scale and its repercussions on the Kingdom’s energy bill.
To this end, Leïla Benali highlighted the measures taken to ensure national natural gas needs, adding that the ministry has worked towards the establishment of an emergency plan aimed at meeting the needs of gas stations. Tahaddart and Ain Beni Mathar to generate electricity, as well as the needs of the industrial sector.
In this sense, it has put forward two lines of work. The first concerns access, for the first time in the history of Morocco, to the world market for liquefied natural gas, with the publication, by the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), of an international call for tenders to import the necessary quantities of liquefied gas via ships and this, in the short, medium and long terms.
And to note that within the framework of regional cooperation, the Spanish basic infrastructures will be used temporarily to import natural gas in reverse flow.
At the same time, Leïla Benali said that despite the difficult situation in the world in the energy field, particularly in the field of natural gas, Morocco has received a dozen offers from the major world producers of natural gas, which is a sign of optimism regarding quantities demanded and prices.
According to the Minister, these offers were submitted by a special commission to an urgent and thorough procedure to negotiate with the partners concerned. The results of the work of this commission will be unveiled soon in order to move on to the signing of short, medium and long-term contracts.
As for the second axis, it concerns the construction of a basic infrastructure capable of guaranteeing the transfer of liquefied natural gas on Moroccan territory, indicated the minister, mentioning several choices, such as the construction of a floating unit medium-term transfer to one of the ports (Mohammedia or Nador) and the long-term equipping of other ports with liquefied natural gas import units in Jorf Lasfar and Dakhla.
This plan, according to the minister, also includes the construction of a transport and distribution network via canals connecting these reception units to the different natural gas consumption zones, which is important in the energy transition, in view of these environmental advantages. and economic.
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