MOROCCO GOVT. RE-COMISSIONED COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANTS

Following Algeria’s closure of the Maghreb-Europe pipeline after 25 years of operation, Morocco announced the re-commissioning of its combined cycle power plants at Tahaddart and Ain Beni Mathar using imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to generate power.

The announcement was made as part of a joint statement from Morocco’s National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM).

The Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, the regional pipeline that once transported Algerian gas to Spain via Morocco, now supplies natural gas to these two facilities via the gas interconnection between Morocco and Spain, which operates in reverse flow mode, according to the joint statement.

Morocco has maintained its natural gas supply through purchasing LNG on the international market, as well as by using the gas infrastructure of Spanish operators and the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, added to the joint statement.

Morocco’s decision to maintain the Maghreb-Europe pipeline despite Algeria’s desire to halt the operations due to diplomatic tensions has served the country well.

As Morocco was not receiving its gas from Algeria, the closure has not affected the kingdom’s energy supply as severely as Algeria had hoped. Morocco’s electricity and hydrocarbon authorities were adamant late last year that Algeria’s termination of the pipeline’s contract would not significantly impact Morocco.

According to the Spanish news site La Vanguardia, Morocco has been receiving its gas supply via the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline from the United States, not Algeria.

The first cargo of liquefied natural gas from the United States to Morocco was unloaded on June 28 at the Bilbao regasification facility, the newspaper reported.

Despite the far-reaching repercussions of the COVID crisis and the Ukraine-Russia war, the Moroccan government insists that it has been able to procure enough gas to meet the country’s needs.

SOURCE: MoroccoWorldNews