Morocco Discovers Major Offshore Gas Reserves, Repsol Leads Exploration

11 different natural gas exploration companies have drilled 67 wells, of which 40 contain gas reserves of more or less large quantities, but the most important deposit would be the one discovered by the Spanish company Repsol. This is according to a report that Amina Benkhadra, Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), has transmitted this week to the Infrastructure, Energy, Mines and Environment Commission, in the House of Representatives, as reported by the Arabic-language newspaper Al Akhbar.

The official said that Repsol has recently discovered large quantities of gas in the sea, off the coast of Larache. A discovery confirmed by the drilling of wells carried out by the British company Chariot Oil and Gas, between late 2021 and early 2022. Natural gas has also been discovered in the Gharb basin and the Essaouira basin (Meskala), the same report states. In total, 150,000 m³ are exploited in the Gharb and delivered daily via pipelines to seven clients operating in the free zone and the industrial zone of Kénitra, as part of a partnership between ONHYM (25%) and the company SDX Energy (75%).

Between 2016 and 2019, the Tendrara basin saw the drilling, by ONYHM and its partner Sound Energy, of five wells. After the discovery of gas quantities in two of these wells, a contract was signed for their imminent exploitation. There was also the drilling of seven wells, including three in shallow water, off the Atlantic coast from Agadir to Tarfaya. Oil was discovered off Tarfaya and Sidi Ifni in two wells. Significant oil and gas indications have been highlighted in four other wells in the same maritime area.