Morocco, the biggest importer of energy in the Middle East and North Africa, is about to select three liquefied natural gas providers as part of plans to diversify its energy mix, the country's energy minister said yesterday.
“In two weeks, we will evaluate the bids and we will make a decision,” said Abdelkader Amara at a conference in Dubai. “Most probably we will have three providers, part of them will be countries and another part will be companies.”
Morocco has held talks with Russia, the US and Qatar about importing LNG under long-term plans.
Morocco was talking to Shell and other international companies about plans to import 2 million tonnes of LNG in the first four-year phase starting 2020 or 2021, Mr Amara said.
In the second phase, Morocco wants another 2 million tonnes of LNG imports, he said.
About 70 to 80 per cent of the LNG will be imported under long-term contracts and the rest from the spot market.
Morocco plans to spend more than US$4.5 billion on building an LNG terminal at the industrial centre of Jorf Lasfar on the Atlantic coast, pipelines and a 2.4 gigawatts power plant.
“Seventy per cent of this gas will be used to produce electricity and another part of the LNG will be used in industry as a second step and that’s why we are selling the package in one shot,” said Mr Amara.
Morocco imports 640 million cubic metres of gas a year from Algeria under a 10-year contract signed in 2011. The gas flows through a pipeline transversing north Morocco, through which Algeria exports gas to Spain.
Separately, Egypt has awarded four new licences to explore for oil and gas off its Mediterranean coast, weeks after ENI's giant Zohr gas find piqued fresh international interest in the area, Reuters reported.
dalsaadi@thenational.ae
* with contribution from Reuters
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