Energy Security at Heart of Government’s Concerns – Minister

Rabat – Achieving energy security in the Kingdom is at the heart of the government’s concerns, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali said Tuesday in Rabat.

Responding to an oral question at the House of Advisors on “the measures taken to achieve energy security”, Benali stated that energy security is one of the priorities of her Department, especially during this conjuncture, which is marked by price hikes of oil products worldwide and its impact on the energy bill of the Kingdom.

The minister highlighted the measures taken to ensure the national needs for natural gas, adding that her department has worked to implement an emergency plan to meet the needs of Tahaddart and Ain Beni Mathar power plants and those of the industry sector.

In that regard, the official highlighted two areas of work. The first concerns access to the global market of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), a first for Morocco, with the launch of an international call for tenders, by the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), to import the necessary quantities of LNG via ships.

As part of regional cooperation, the infrastructure of Spain will be used temporarily to import natural gas in reverse flow.

Morocco has received a dozen offers from major global producers of natural gas, which is a sign of optimism about the quantities requested and prices, Benali explained.

The second axis relates to the construction of basic infrastructure to ensure LNG transfer on the Moroccan territory, the minister added, speaking of several options such as building a floating transfer unit in the port of Mohammedia or Nador and equipping other ports with gas transfer units in Jorf Lasfar and Dakhla.