The gas reserves that were discovered in Morocco can guarantee the energy security of the Kingdom and will bring large revenues to its coffers, said Graham Lyon, CEO of the British Sound Energy company in Moroccos, speaking about ensuring the operation of the two thermal plants of the Kingdom by connecting them to the Maghreb-European gas line, and then in Later export to Europen.
Lyon added, in an interview with the Petroleum Economist website, that natural gas discoveries in Morocco will bring wealth to the Kingdom thanks to the state-owned stake through the National Office for Hydrocarbons and Minerals, which amounts to 25 percent, in addition to ensuring energy security, employment, and increasing investments. He described it as a "game changer".
According to the British official, the development of the Tandrara field will greatly respond to the needs of Morocco, pointing to the field's proximity to the European-Maghreb gas pipeline, highlighting that the company's discoveries can be linked to these pipelines, as it is only 120 kilometers away from its location, which guarantees the operation of two thermal stations.
Lyon announced that the investment decision regarding the gas extraction project will be taken in 2023.
Sound Energy's annual production of natural gas destined for the industrial sector will amount to 100 million cubic meters, and it is expected to start selling it during the first three months of 2024, while the production of gas for electric power will reach 300 million cubic meters annually, which will be acquired by the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water which is linked o the company by a 10-year contract.
However, these quantities are very far from the expectations regarding the reserves of the fields supervised by “Sound Energy” in Morocco, amounting to 20 trillion cubic feet, a large part of which remained unexploited despite its previously discovered, due to the failure to initiate projects to develop those fields and the lack of a plan to connect them to the gas pipeline of European Maghreb.
Leon did not rule out that Morocco would pass to the stage of exporting natural gas to Europe, especially in light of the European Union's desire to move away from Russian gas after the war waged by President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.
