Morocco will become part of the club of liquefied natural gas exporting countries
The possibility of extracting and producing liquefied natural gas is a historic milestone for Morocco. For the first time in its history, the North African country is about to start commercial production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) thanks to the latest advances made by the British company, Sound Energy.
The company is working at the Tendara oilfield, in the east of the country. The project is already in the final stages of construction of a natural gas liquefaction plant.
Production tests are expected to begin next summer, while production will start in the last months of the year, with an initial volume of 283,170 cubic metres per day. This figure could rise to 1.13 million as the development of new extraction fields, all in the same field, progresses.
If expectations are met, Rabat will take a big step towards energy independence. With plans to increase production by 300% to 400 million cubic metres per year, Morocco will be able to supply 40% of its local energy consumption. Currently, the North African country needs around 1 billion cubic metres per year to meet its entire energy demand, of which it produces less than a tenth.
Project characteristics
The Tendara field project began five years ago with the Chariot company's initial surveys over an area of more than 1,700 square kilometres. However, it was in 2009 that the Dana Petroleum company drilled for the first time in the region, discovering gas reserves at a depth of more than 2 kilometres.
Since then, the findings have shown that the Tendara deposit is the largest onshore gas field under development in Morocco, covering an area of more than 133.5 square kilometres and with reserves of more than 10.67 billion cubic metres of gas.
This discovery led the British company Sound Energy to make significant investments, allocating more than 560 million dollars to studies, extraction, infrastructure construction and commercialisation. Among the most significant works is the 120-kilometre stretch that will connect the field to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline.
In exchange, the Moroccan authorities granted the capacity to develop the field for 25 years, starting in 2018, with Sound Energy being responsible for extraction until 2043. In future negotiations, the energy company sold 55% of the concessions to two Moroccan companies for 45 million dollars, which, in the words of its CEO, Graham Lyon, meant a reduction in the stake, but not a definitive exit from the project. Currently, Sound Energy retains a 20% stake in the concession, while the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals (ONHYM) holds the remaining 25%.
Impact on the local economy
According to the Department of Energy and Minerals, gas demand in Morocco is expected to exceed 3 billion cubic metres per year by 2040, which justifies the efforts to triple local production in the coming years, reaching 400 million cubic metres per year. The start-up of gas production will reduce the need for imports for key sectors such as electricity, phosphate drying and the ceramics and steel industries.
In collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Morocco is promoting a sustainable infrastructure to boost the development of the gas sector. This discovery not only represents economic progress, but also an important contribution to the country's environmental objectives.
Future projections and additional exploration
For the Moroccan government, the search for energy independence is not limited to liquefied natural gas; they are also dedicating a large part of their efforts to exploring the potential of ‘geological hydrogen’ or ‘white hydrogen’.
This new element is a low-carbon resource found in the rock layers where there is natural gas. If this new resource can be exploited, Morocco could further increase the country's sources of income, while increasing its own energy independence.
For its extraction, Sound Energy has already shown interest in the project in which it would be willing to invest more than 25 million dollars for study work in new wells that will allow the identification of the regions in which this new element, white hydrogen, can be found.