Morocco grants new gas exploitation licence in the west of the country

Morocco is expanding exploration for natural gas in several regions of the country as part of its policy to diversify energy sources and reduce hydrocarbon import bills.

As part of this policy, the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has just granted a new licence for the exploitation of a new natural gas field in Douar Oulad Belkheir, in the west of the country.

The licence has been granted to the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, has a duration of four years and covers a territorial extension of 1.8 square kilometres.

Preliminary studies carried out by the exploration company Gulf Sands at the time estimated that the future well has potential reserves capable of delivering more than 280,000 cubic metres of gas per day.

The tests yielded a constant flow rate of just over 175,000 cubic metres over four hours, with a final flow pressure of 1,084 psi.

By 2022, Morocco's Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development had granted more than 350 hydrocarbon exploration licences and 27 exploitation licences for mineral research and exploitation.

In addition, a total of 1,092 research licences and 79 mining licences that had been withdrawn before May this year were reinstated.

In addition, the Ministry also awarded licences to a total of 56 companies that had expressed a desire to invest in the Tafilalet and Figig mining region.

Exploration has been extended to the Gharb basin, where two exploratory wells have been drilled to carry out geological and geophysical evaluations of the sedimentary basins.

According to the Ministry, exploration and search for hydrocarbons will be further intensified over a total area of 272,835 square kilometres.