The local production of natural gas in Morocco does not exceed 100 million cubic meters per year and it is extracted from small deposits scattered here and there throughout the country. However, this volume is not sufficient and it will take 10 times more extraction to be able to meet national needs, estimated at one billion cubic meters year after year.
According to the latest report from the Competition Council (CC), published yesterday Thursday, January 6, 2022, the data published in an opinion dependent on Law No. 91.17 relating to the natural gas sector, it is the National Hydrocarbons Office and des mines (ONHYM), in partnership with private companies specializing in the exploration and research of hydrocarbons, which is responsible for the transport and distribution of natural gas.
The natural gas from ONHYM fields, located in the Gharb and Essaouira regions, is routed by gas pipelines. While the condensate (a liquid mixture of “light hydrocarbons” obtained by the condensation of natural gases) is transported by tanker. The gas pipeline network available to ONHYM, reveals the CC, is 213 km long in the Gharb plain, while it still reaches 160 km in the Essaouira basin where it mainly supplies the OCP with its Youssoufia mining center (drying and calcination).
As for the Gharb gas produced and marketed by ONHYM & Co, it is delivered to various companies in the industrial zone of Kénitra, Moroccan Company of Cartons and Papers (CMCP) Super Cérame (ceramic industry) and Keyes Cemok (manufacture of cells for packaging)…
The gas pipelines used by ONHYM are small-sized pipelines of small diameter, not long but with a mesh that connects the wells to the metering stations to deliver the gas to its destination. The hydrocarbon exploration and research companies working with ONHYM are called Sound Energy, which holds the Tendrara license in the Oriental region, Chariot Oil & Gas, which holds the Lixus license in Larache, Mohammedia and Kénitra, Petrador Oil & Gas in the Guercif region and SDX Energy which has five concessions in the Gharb region (center-north) and three concessions in the northeast of Morocco.
While waiting for the various explorations to reveal their volume of reserves and given the low local production of natural gas, and the closure of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (588 million cubic meters in 2019), the Kingdom will have recourse to imports for its natural gas requirements.
Morocco intends to diversify its sources of supply by resuming the process of operating the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline and importing gas from the closest geographically and most competitive suppliers. It is also counting on the operation of the gas pipeline which will link Nigeria to Morocco. On the other hand, the CC reveals the main energy consuming players in Natural gas in Morocco. The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) for its electricity production is the main consumer of natural gas in Morocco with a volume of 884.3 million cubic meters, against 98.7 crumbs million cubic meters for manufacturers, in 2019. Since 2005 it has been so.
But it must be said that the latter through this clean energy are more and more attracted, especially in sectors such as the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the paper industry, metallurgy, the automobile industry, the food industry, etc.
ONEE data indicates that the exponentially increasing final demand for natural gas consumption is expected to reach 1.1 billion cubic meters by 2025, nearly 1.7 billion cubic meters by 2030 and around 3 billion cubic meters. cubic meters by 2040. These projections are mainly related to the increase in the consumption of natural gas for the power generation, industry and transport sectors, in addition to the needs of the OCP, which intends to move towards a model based mainly on natural gas.
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