Rabat – The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali has reassured citizens and MPs that Morocco’s petroleum stock is “satisfactory.”
Benali made her remarks in response to MPs’ questions regarding Morocco’s strategy to preserve the country’s energy sovereignty at the House of Councillors on Tuesday.
Benali responded to the questions, saying that the national reserves of petroleum products are “sufficient to cover between 30 and 40 days of consumption.”
She said that having that amount of oil reserves is something the country has been doing for 20 years.
The minister emphasized that Morocco has adopted an “ambitious policy” to increase the stock reserves to meet the needs of national production.
She added that the Ministry of Transitional Energy is examining the possibility of establishing a new management system for petroleum reserve stock as part of a public-private partnership.
Last week, Benali emphasized the country’s determination to continue to reinforce its gas infrastructure amid the ongoing crisis.
She said that the country aims to reinforce the energy infrastructure through a plan that includes gas pipelines, ports, storage, as well as re-conversion units for liquified natural gas.
Benali acknowledged that the industrial sector was one of the key fields that are struggling to obtain natural gas amid the current situation.
This led the minister to call for the establishment of sites to convert liquefied gas into natural gas, stressing the importance of achieving energy sovereignty.
She called on Moroccan authorities to carry out studies to determine the best sites to host the gas conversion units, suggesting that the ports of Mohammed and Nador “seem the most prepared” hubs.
The minister suggested that the process could be applied across Morocco’s ports, including Jorf Lasfar port.
“The establishment of a gas infrastructure would also make Morocco a pioneer in the field of hydrogen,” she said, stressing that European countries have been able to transport hydrogen in 30% of their gas pipelines.
