€18 billion announced: OCP and Engie significantly scale back their mega-project

The change in scale comes less than two years after the agreement was signed in Rabat. According to Africa Intelligence, OCP and Engie have not abandoned their joint venture project, but their ambitions have been “significantly scaled back” compared with the initial investment program.

No new amount or details about the projects retained have been disclosed. At this stage, the information therefore concerns the substantial reduction of the envelope initially targeted, not the abandonment of the partnership.

The agreement was signed on 28 October 2024, during Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco, by Mostafa Terrab, CEO of OCP, and Catherine MacGregor, CEO of Engie. The ceremony took place in Rabat in the presence of King Mohammed VI and the French president.

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The statement published by Engie outlined four major areas: renewable energy generation capacity combined with storage, electrical infrastructure at OCP sites, green ammonia production, and the development of desalination units intended for agriculture.

Feasibility studies were also to cover other green hydrogen derivatives, particularly e-methanol and sustainable aviation fuels. The partnership also included a component dedicated to research and innovation.

The joint venture remains in preparation

OCP and Engie are continuing to work on creating a joint venture in the coming months. The agreement signed in 2024 referred to this creation only as a possibility. The continuation of discussions shows that the project is still active, even though its final content is expected to be significantly less ambitious.

This revision does not interrupt the energy transition program being pursued directly by OCP. The Moroccan group is continuing its investments in renewable energy, green ammonia and desalinated water production to supply its industrial facilities and certain cities.

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The partnership with Engie was initially intended to form a large-scale industrial platform to accelerate both OCP’s decarbonization and Morocco’s energy transition. The future joint venture will show which projects are actually maintained and the real gap with the initial program, whose cost could reach €18 billion.