Morocco plans to launch a call for tenders this summer to build a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the future port of Nador West Med, in the northeast of the country, an official at the ministry of energy, cited by the agency Reuters.
The ministry expects to reach financial close in 2025, with construction, commissioning and commercial operations planned for 2026, Abdelghafour El Hadjaoui said in a presentation seen by Reuters.
The LNG terminal will be connected to an existing gas pipeline, the GME, which allows Morocco to import 0.5 billion cubic meters of LNG per year from Spanish terminals, which is enough to power two electricity production plants. Morocco also plans to connect the same pipeline to developing gas fields in the east and west of the country.
According to ministry estimates, Morocco’s natural gas needs are expected to increase from 1 billion m3 currently to 8 billion m3 in 2027.
As a reminder, a strategic memorandum of understanding was signed on Tuesday March 26 in Rabat between the ministries of the Interior, Finance, Equipment and the Energy Transition for the launch of the gas infrastructure roadmap. The program, which will extend over a period of several years, aims to provide the Kingdom with several entry points for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as storage and transport infrastructure. natural gas.
