Very dependent on imports, it is clearly not tomorrow that Morocco will ensure its self-sufficiency in gas and oil.
Its basement simply does not contain any, as shown by this unsuccessful experience of a European company which had to pack up after searching, in vain, for gas off the coast of the kingdom.
The Greek company Energian, based in the United Kingdom, obtained two exploration licenses in December 2023 in the Anchois field, off the coast of Larache, near Tangier.
The field was presented as promising and the Greek company preferred this investment to another it had made in Egypt and which it had had to abandon. She immediately began exploring by joining forces with the British Chariot, but she quickly became disillusioned.
Energian CEO Matthews Rigas confirmed that the company has indeed discovered gas, but in very insufficient quantities which do not guarantee the profitability of the investment.
The project is too insignificant for a company the size of Energian, he summarized in statements taken up in particular by the specialized Arab platform Attaqa.net.
« We did some offshore drilling off the coast of Morocco, but we didn’t find what we were hoping for. At least, from our point of view, we do not see significant progress in this area. “, he said.
« Morocco is a great country that we love, but what we found fell short of our expectations. This does not mean that there is no gas on this field at all. There is gas, but in small quantities that would be suitable for a company smaller than us “, he insisted, advising the Moroccans to use a smaller company to continue the project.
Greek company ends gas search in Morocco
Energian is therefore leaving Morocco and will now focus its efforts on the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Middle East and Greece, its CEO announced.
Asked about the quantities of gas actually discovered at the Anchois field, Mathiews Rigas refused to answer so as not to embarrass the Moroccan authorities who amplify in their communication the importance of the discoveries made across Morocco.
« I prefer not to say anything until the results are announced by the Moroccan government. The gap is enormous and it is preferable that it is the government which communicates “, he evacuated.
The outcome of the exploration is a big disillusion both for Morocco and for the Greek company which had previously presented the Anchois field as a gigantic deposit, ensuring that it contained reserves of more than 18 billion m3 of gas .
Morocco produces gas, but in very small quantities, barely 100 million cubic meters per year, for domestic needs exceeding one billion cubic meters.
The kingdom worsened its situation by provoking a crisis with Algeria, a major gas producer and exporter. In November 2021, Algeria closed the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) which connects it to Spain via Morocco and on which the latter took, in rights of way, quantities of gas intended to operate power plants from the east of the kingdom.
The Moroccans considered using the pipeline to import gas from Spain, but Algeria made it a condition for the latter, for the continuation of its deliveries, not to resell Algerian gas to Morocco.
In terms of oil, the kingdom is no better off. Its import bill for energy products rose in 2022, in a context of expensive oil, to more than 15 billion dollars.
