British Firm Sound Energy Nears Gas Production in Morocco’s Tendrara Field

The natural gas liquefaction (LNG) production project in Tendrara is in its final stretch. "We encountered difficulties in 2022 and 2023 with the manufacture of equipment due to geopolitical tensions and the closure of steel mills, but our partner assures us that the gas will start flowing this year," explains Graham Lyon, CEO of Sound Energy. According to him, the company will make its first sales as early as the fall of 2025. Currently, the liquefaction facilities are being transported to Morocco from the United States. The company Afriquia Gaz, in charge of LNG transportation, will be responsible for the distribution of the gas that will be produced.

Sound Energy is working on connecting Tendrara to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, "which would allow the integration of Moroccan production into the regional gas network. A 120-kilometer pipeline, a treatment center and the drilling of four to five new development wells will be carried out as part of this project. "We are currently updating the engineering and cost estimates. A final investment decision could be made at the end of 2025, for an expected commissioning within 18 to 24 months," Lyon specifies.

While no world-class gas field has been discovered in Morocco so far, the potential in place exceeds 20,000 billion cubic feet, estimates Sound Energy, corroborating the assessments made by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2021. "We have not yet explored all the possibilities. Morocco offers an attractive working framework, strong institutional support and financial incentives encouraging exploration. Nothing suggests today that the resources are limited," says Lyon.