Morocco Unveils Roadmap for Natural Gas Self-Sufficiency by 2050

This roadmap lays the foundations for the development of natural gas for industrial, domestic and other needs, said the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment in a press release. For the implementation of this roadmap, a regulatory framework for natural gas through the establishment of draft law 94-17 related to the downstream natural gas sector will be put in place, followed by the strengthening of the powers of the National Electricity Regulatory Authority, including the establishment of a manager of the Moroccan natural gas transmission network.

The second phase will then consist of evaluating the demand, through the evolution of the current consumption and that of the past years. The third step will allow to evaluate the different options for the supply of natural gas and liquefied natural gas, especially by pipelines, floating storage and regasification units, onshore terminals or even bidirectional flows, while adopting a new transport network.

The purpose of this roadmap is to create a regulated natural gas market, the development of a structuring gas infrastructure project, access for industrialists and consumers to competitive energy and others. Since natural gas is a clean fossil fuel, it could well be used as a foundation for the energy transition in Morocco. Moreover, the studies carried out and the analysis of the current situation of the supply and demand of natural gas would be induced in particular by the demand of the electricity production sector and that of the industry. It should be noted that the total demand for natural gas in the kingdom will reach more than 3 billion m³ in 2040. This is proof of the maturity of the national market, says the press release.