Spanish Experts Dispute Morocco’s Claimed Oil Discovery Near Canary Islands

In a press release published on social networks, the association stated that Morocco has not made any oil discovery off the Canary Islands, reports Publico. "All the figures that have recently been published on the phantom oil in Morocco fall into the category of undiscovered or prospective resources," the AGGEP said in its note. In another post on its Facebook account, the association described the discovery as "false", considering it to be "advertising" organized by Morocco to attract investors.

To read: Spain Monitors Morocco’s Oil Exploration Near Canary Islands, Citing National Interests

Based on the systems for evaluating and classifying hydrocarbon resources and reserves, which set the criteria for determining the profitability of an oil or gas field or well, the AGGEP explains that the announced capacity of one billion barrels of crude oil for these Moroccan discoveries seems high, but would only serve to meet the oil demand of a medium-sized country like Spain, which consumes 1.3 million barrels per day and nearly 500 million barrels per year, for two years. According to the experts, this project is not profitable, given the high extraction costs due to the depth of the sea.

Morocco announced last week that it had discovered several oil wells, including two in the Tarfaya area, near the Canary waters. The discovery of other wells was announced on Thursday by the British company Europe Oil & Gas, in charge of exploration off Agadir, northeast of the Canary Islands.