Morocco’s Gas Exploration Lags Behind Global and Regional Averages, Audit Finds

The national density remains lower than that recorded in neighboring countries such as Mauritania and Senegal, particularly in the field of offshore exploration, not to mention the concentration of most national efforts in the Gharb and Essaouira basins, notes the annual report of the Court of Auditors. The latter points out that the density of exploratory drilling has not seen any evolution since the launch of the national energy strategy: 374 wells were drilled at the end of 2023, of which only 84 were drilled between 2009 and 2023, while the area of sedimentary basins open to exploration is estimated at around 761,000 square kilometers.

As for the value of investments in hydrocarbon exploration, it amounted to 23.9 billion dirhams during the period from 2009 to 2022, with an annual average of 1.78 billion dirhams. This rate represents an increase compared to the 2000-2008 period, where the annual average was 0.62 billion dirhams. But this improvement is only temporary. Investments have started to decline since 2014 due to the lack of major commercial discoveries and the impact of the global shift towards renewable energies.

A less rosy situation for the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines’ own investments. They have experienced a sharp decline, from an annual average of 59.8 million dirhams during the 2000-2008 period to 43.6 million dirhams annually between 2009 and 2022, a decrease of 27%, the same source specifies. Even the ambitious objectives set by the national strategy for the 2008-2012 period, which provided for own investments of 2 billion dirhams, were not achieved: the realizations did not exceed 280 million dirhams, the equivalent of 14% of the initial forecasts.