Morocco to Cut Energy Ties with Spain, Build Regasification and Pipelines

Doha – Morocco is cutting energy ties with Spain and embarking on an ambitious plan to build regasification plants, storage tanks, and pipelines, according to an exclusive report by Spanish outlet El Confidencial. This move comes as the North African kingdom seeks to reduce its energy dependence on neighboring countries.

The decision was prompted by Algeria’s closure of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline in October 2021, which had previously supplied Spain with Algerian gas from the Hassi R’Mel fields, crossing 522 kilometers of Moroccan territory. The sudden cut-off forced Morocco to react swiftly to address the looming energy shortage.

Initially, Morocco relied on Spain’s assistance in 2022 to mitigate the crisis. The Maghreb-Europe pipeline was reversed to pump gas from north to south, with Morocco purchasing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on the international market and transporting it to Spanish regasification plants. However, the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition was compelled to ensure that the gas was not of Algerian origin to satisfy Algerian demands.

Morocco aims to become energy-self sufficient and exporter

Now, Morocco is taking steps to establish its own energy infrastructure. On March 26, five Moroccan ministries signed the Sustainable Gas Infrastructure Development Program, which envisions the construction of three LNG regasification plants, storage tanks, and pipelines.

The first regasification plant will be built in Nador West Med, west of the Spanish enclave of Melilla, where a second Mediterranean port is already under construction. A newly built pipeline will connect Nador West to the Maghreb-Europe pipeline. The second plant will be a floating storage and regasification unit installed in Mohammedia, north of Casablanca, while the third is planned for Dakhla in southern Morocco.

Morocco’s energy ambitions extend beyond its borders, with plans to become a major bidirectional energy corridor between Africa, Europe, and the Atlantic basin, emulating Turkey’s role. The kingdom is also exploring the possibility of a 6,000-kilometer, largely submarine gas pipeline that would transport Nigerian gas to Morocco and Spain, traversing the waters of 13 countries.

Morocco is also investing heavily in renewable energy, with the goal of generating 52% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The Moroccan government has launched ambitious projects such as the Noor Ouarzazate solar plant and the Tarfaya wind farm.

In mid-March this year, the government of Aziz Akhannouch issued a decree offering 300,000 hectares of public land to investors willing to initiate projects related to green hydrogen production. The land will be allocated in parcels ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 hectares, depending on the size of the investment.

However, despite the positive developments in energy cooperation, the two-year anniversary of the agreement between Spain and Morocco has highlighted the lack of progress on several key issues, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported on April 7.

The Spanish government has struggled to secure the reopening of customs in Ceuta and Melilla, which have been closed since 2018. Despite assurances from the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, that Ceuta and Melilla were prepared for the reopening, his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, cited “technical problems” as the reason for the delay.

Additionally, there has been little information on the progress of negotiations regarding the delimitation of maritime space on the Atlantic coast, a contentious issue due to its potential impact on Western Sahara.

The situation has been further complicated by a recent report from the Advocate General of the European Union, which advised the annulment of the fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco, implicitly recognizing the separatist Polisario Front’s claim that the waters in question are not part of Moroccan territory.

The Spanish government has also faced criticism from the Polisario Front. Abdulah Arabi, the separatist group’s delegate in Spain, claimed the Spanish government’s support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara amounted to a blatant violation of international law regarding the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.

Arabi argued that Spain had missed an opportunity to return to an official position that respects the legal nature of Western Sahara as a decolonization process and had effectively renounced its prominent role as the administering power of the territory.

The issue of Western Sahara remains a point of contention within the Spanish coalition government, with the junior partner, Sumar, and other parties now part of the platform led by Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, openly supporting Polisario’s “Sahrawi cause” and participating in demonstrations and protests challenging Morocco’s claim to the disputed region.

Meanwhile, the Popular Party (PP) has criticized Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for going on vacation to Morocco, attributing Spain’s change of heart on the Western Sahara question and the Sanchez government’s conciliatory approach to allegations of Pegasus “data leak” from his mobile phone to a “personal involvement of him and his family” in Morocco.

As Morocco forges ahead with its energy independence plans and strengthens its position as a regional energy hub, Madrid faces the challenge of balancing its diplomatic relations with Rabat while addressing domestic concerns over human rights, Western Sahara, and the fulfillment of the agreed-upon partnership.