Morocco’s Minister of Energy Leila Benali has renewed the country’s determination to strengthen its gas infrastructure to meet local demand.
Like many other countries, Morocco has been witnessing a gas crisis due to global crises, including the Ukraine-Russia tension.
Moroccans have been denouncing the unprecedented fuel prices, which have ranged between MAD 14 and MAD 15 in the few past weeks.
Benali stressed the importance of reinforcing the country’s gas infrastructure during a press briefing last week. The country’s plan to reinforce the energy infrastructure includes gas pipelines, ports, storage, as well as re-conversion units for liquified natural gas.
The country aspires to restructure the gas infrastructure to help overcome the crisis some key sectors have been suffering, including the industrial field.
The minister acknowledged that the industrial sector “suffered to obtain natural gas” amid the current situation.
Benali emphasized the importance of building sites to re-convert liquefied gas into natural gas, stressing the importance of achieving energy sovereignty.
The official called for authorities to carry out economic and financial studies to determine the “optimal sites” to house the gas conversion units.
She suggested that the ports of Mohammedia and Nador seem “the most prepared” to receive liquefied natural gas, store it and convert it into natural gas.
Benali said this process could be done in many of Morocco’s ports, along its 3,500km of coast, including Jorf Lasfar port.
She described the port as an industrial pole, citing Moroccan ports’ potential, across the country.
Benali said that Morocco is seeking to prepare four ports to help stabilize natural gas levels.
“The establishment of a gas infrastructure would also make Morocco a pioneer in the field of hydrogen,” she said, emphasizing that European countries have been able to transport hydrogen in 30% of their gas pipelines.
She also emphasized the importance of developing joint infrastructure with a number of European countries to help the country produce more natural gas.
The official recalled that Morocco has the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, as well as two gas storage units that are not operational.
