Morocco Expands LNG Infrastructure with New Regasification Plant and Pipeline

A first LNG regasification plant will be built in the port of Nador West Med. A new pipeline will connect this terminal to the Maghreb-Europe pipeline (GME), unilaterally closed by Algeria in November 2021, a month after the rupture of its diplomatic relations with Morocco. Rabat is using the GME in reverse to transport LNG purchased on the international market and transformed in the regasification plants in Spain, recalls El Español, indicating that for the first time, Morocco has become the main destination for Spanish gas exports, according to data from the Corporation of Strategic Oil Reserves (Cores).

On March 26 in Rabat, under the leadership of the Ministry of Energy Transition, the Ministries of the Interior, Finance, and Equipment signed a memorandum of understanding for the launch of the roadmap for gas infrastructure. The National Ports Agency (ANP), the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), the Nador West Med company (NWM) and the National Roads Agency of Morocco (ADM) are also parties to this protocol, which, according to a press release from the Ministry of Energy, reflects "Morocco’s continued commitment to consolidate its energy sovereignty, decarbonize its economy and connect to regional and global markets".

The protocol also aims to "strengthen the coordination of public authorities with a view to the accelerated implementation of a sustainable gas infrastructure development plan", adds the note. This agreement, lasting about 10 years, should allow the production of 500 million cubic meters of liquefied natural gas per year and achieve energy self-sufficiency. In this perspective, Morocco is investing in the development of renewable energies, particularly green hydrogen and its derivatives, and the realization of the trans-Atlantic pipeline with Nigeria, "a strategic lever for regional integration and the economic and social development of the countries of West Africa".