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Moroccan plans to build regasification plants to supply Onee’s existing and planned CCGT power stations have been mooted for more than a decade, but could now finally be moving ahead, with government commitments to build an LNG import unit at Nador, with other schemes to follow.

London-listed Energean has taken on the operatorship of the Lixus and Rissana licence areas, alongside partners Chariot and state-owned Onhym

SDX Energy has spudded the Beni Malek-2 (BMK-2) well in the Rharb Basin. The London AIM-listed company has reported an ‘immediate and increasing’ local demand for its gas in Morocco.

Saudi operator Acwa Power said the Noor 3 CSP plant at Ouarzazate would be closed until November after a leak in its hot molten salts tank used to store energy.

While Gulf national oil companies like QatarEnergy and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have focused most of their attention on Africa's upstream oil and gas opportunities there are still openings for investors in Africa’s refining sector.

Slow progress at some of sub-Saharan Africa’s most high-profile LNG developments come as exporters from other parts of the world race to sign new long-term deals with buyers from Asia and Europe. The risk for African producers is that they could miss out on lucrative opportunities, costing governments large amounts in lost foreign earnings, writes Marc Howard*.

Algeria is squeezing whatever gas it can out of the system for export and Morocco is looking at different options for its smaller reserves, but Libya and Egypt face bigger challenges still, with the bare minimum export LNG leaving Egyptian terminals this year.

Hopes that a buyer would emerge to take over Morocco’s mothballed Samir refinery have not been fulfilled, while arbitration proceedings enter a sixth year over Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi’s controversial asset in Mohammedia.

New Lixus licence operator Energean expects the gas play’s speedy monetisation, with appraisal drilling slated for later this year at the 18bcm Anchois field. The project's developers point to considerable existing gas-to-power and industrial demand, while the nearby GME pipeline could allow for some modest export sales to Europe.

London AIM-listed indie Chariot is planning an initial two-well exploration drilling campaign, but has approval for 17 other candidate well locations and re-entry of an existing gas discovery.

The ten largest renewable energy additions to African grids in 2024 fall into four distinct groups: Ethiopian hydro, other sub-Saharan African hydro, and wind and solar projects in North Africa and South Africa. African Energy has assessed the projects and whether or not they will be built in time.

Energean’s farm-in to Chariot’s Moroccan licences gives a boost to development prospects for the offshore Anchois gas field, while handing LSE-listed Energean a valuable foothold in Atlantic coast acreage.

Organisers made big claims about investment flows at the AfDB-backed Africa Investment Forum 2023 Market Days event in Morocco, James Gavin reports from Marrakech.

The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) will soon launch a tender for a 3GW, 1,600km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line to take power from renewable energy plants in Dakhla, in the disputed Sahara region, up to Kenitra and Tangier in the north.

UK-headquartered independents are leading the way in developing Morocco’s onshore and offshore gas resources, as the government seeks to boost domestic supplies and reduce its reliance on expensive imports via Spain. Among recent activity, Chariot has secured environmental approval for its 1.5tcf offshore Anchois development, writes James Gavin.