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In a significant vote of confidence for Morocco’s exploration prospects despite the lack of success so far, Italy’s Eni has farmed into Chariot Oil & Gas’ Rabat Deep Offshore licence, taking a 40% operated stake. Eni will carry Chariot’s costs for a deep-water well on the JP-1 prospect, to an agreed cap, and will carry Chariot for other geological and administrative costs relating to work commitments in the next licence period. The farm-out is subject to approval by the Moroccan authorities. On completion, the shareholding will be Eni (40%, operator), Woodside (25%), Chariot (10%) and Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (25% carried interest).

With Morocco embroiled in new controversies over the disputed Western Sahara and strongly aligned with Gulf states in Yemen and other conflicts, geopolitics was high on the agenda when King Mohammed VI visited Moscow in March. The visit was also notable for reports that the monarch had suggested Russian companies – almost certainly led by Gazprom – could be favoured in building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal at Jorf Lasfar, and other infrastructure that comprises Morocco’s integrated gas-to-power (GTP) plan.

Morocco’s ambitious opening to renewables continues apace, with projects for wind and solar to supply private industry, as well as the Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE) grid. In a potentially important agreement, leading local developer Nareva Holding – part of the SNI group, which has a major royal shareholding – will supply power generated by a wind farm to Nador-based steelmaker Sonasid from 2018.

Siemens has signed an agreement with the Moroccan government to build a factory to produce rotor blades for onshore wind turbines in an investment worth more than €100m ($112m). Company spokesman Bernd Eilitz told African Energy that the facility would produce blades which would “be among the largest single-piece composites in the world”. Blades with a length of 63 metres will be produced initially, but the plant has been designed to also produce larger blade types. Construction could begin on the plant as early as this spring, and operations are expected to begin in 2017.

Amid continued questions over Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi’s ability to fund the turnaround of Société Marocaine d’Industrie de Raffinage (Samir), the company that owns the embattled refiner remains committed to resuming production, its Mohammedia-based president-director-general Jamal Ba-Amer said following the latest court hearings. Creditors have been seeking repayments at the Casablanca Tribunal de Commerce, where Samir on 7 March lodged a new recovery plan, which showed the company could emerge from its current difficulties. But there is growing scepticism in Morocco that its sole refiner can survive in its current form.

Qatar Petroleum has reached a farm-in agreement with Chevron Morocco Exploration giving it a 30% share in three deep-water offshore leases. Under the agreement, which has been approved by the Moroccan government, Chevron will retain a 45% interest and continue as operator. The state Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (Onhym) will continue to have a 25% interest. The three offshore areas are Cap Rhir Deep, Cap Cantin Deep and Cap Walidia Deep, located 100-200km west and north-west of Agadir.

Mustapha Bakkoury has stood down as leader of the Parti Authenticité et Modernité, a political party now in opposition but close to the royal palace, allowing him to spend more time on his other job as head of Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen). King Mohammed VI in late December ordered that Masen should be given a wider role in implementing renewables projects. Ilyas El-Omari was unanimously elected as new secretary-general at the party’s 22-24 January conference at Bouzenika.

Sound Energy has announced a field management agreement with Schlumberger for the onshore Tendrara licence. Under the agreement, Schlumberger will provide integrated technical services, equipment and personnel to Sound, and will pay part of the cost of the first three Tendrara appraisal wells, and the cost of developing the licence area after that. In exchange, Schlumberger will be granted an upside linked to production performance.

Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) has invited expressions of interest (EoIs) to develop an eventual 400MW hybrid concentrated solar power (CSP)/photovoltaic (PV) independent power project at Midelt. EoIs are due by 1 February for the Noor Midelt project’s first phase, called NoorM I, to be sited on some 2,400ha, located 25km north-east of Midelt town.Masen says Noor Midelt will comprise one or several power plants with a hybrid technology, combining CSP and PV.

Commissioning of the first phase of the Ouarzazate concentrated solar power plant may have been delayed, but the stock of the innovative project’s promoter, Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen), continues to rise following a late December instruction from King Mohammed VI that will give Masen a central role in piloting renewables projects across the kingdom. This reflects a view that Masen’s slimmed down, highly qualified management – including executives previously educated and employed in the diaspora – is better qualified to deliver a highly ambitious renewables project roster than state utility Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE).

A consortium of influential local developer Nareva Holding, Italy’s Enel Green Power and Germany’s Siemens Wind Power submitted the most competitive financial offer for a long-awaited tender to build five wind farms with combined 850MW capacity for state utility Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE). The bid was nearly MD11bn ($1.1bn), but full details have yet to be released and a final decision formally announced, nearly four years after the project was launched.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE) and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) have signed a financing package for the 120MW Khalladi wind farm near Tangier – the first project to be supported by the EBRD’s new $250m fund for renewable generation in the southern and eastern Mediterranean. The EBRD and BMCE are providing E126m ($143m) to US-based developer UPC Renewables for the wind farm’s construction, operation and maintenance. The developer group comprises Saudi-based Acwa Power Global Services, UPC and investment fund Arif, managed by Infra Invest.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has confirmed its support for the rehabilitation of small and medium-sized hydroelectric power plants (HEPs) operated by state utility Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE), and has launched a $250m fund to invest in private sector renewable energy schemes in its Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (Semed) region. The first projects to be financed from this line are expected to include the 120MW Khalladi wind farm near Tangier.

Demonstrations that began in mid-October against the rising cost of electricity have gained momentum in Tangier, where several thousand protesters gathered in the northern coastal city’s Place des Nations. Although Tangier mayor Bachir Abdellaoui has promised that bills issued since July will be “revised” and that there will be no more abrupt price rises, there seems little sign of protests ending. Some 1.5m bills issued since the summer need revision; meanwhile, default notices have been suspended. Protesters’ main chant is ‘Amendis dégage’ (Amendis out), a reference to the Veolia Environnement subsidiary that runs electricity, water and sewerage services in the Tangier-Tetouan area.

Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi has promised funds to turn around Société Marocaine d’Industrie de Raffinage (Samir), but not all shareholders are satisfied that the embattled Moroccan refiner’s problems are solved following a 16 October extraordinary general meeting. The Casablanca daily L’Economiste reported some shareholders leaving the meeting “speechless”. Others said they needed further answers to where the money was coming from, as Samir agreed a MD10bn ($1.04bn) capital increase.