Morocco picks Mohammedia for potential floating gas facility

Morocco has invited bids to perform a study for the upgrade of Mohammedia port near Casablanca to host a liquified natural gas (LNG) floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), the Moroccan ports agency said on Tuesday, 4 January.

Morocco's energy minister Leila Benali speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, 4 November 2021. Reuters/Phil Noble

The deadline for bids has been set at 25 January, the agency said on its website.

Energy minister Leila Benali last month said that her department was examining financial and gas supply details for a future FSRU that would guarantee all of Morocco’s gas needs.

People enjoy the water while container ships park near the El Ain El Sokhna port before entering the Suez Canal, Egypt, 25 September 2020. Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

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Algeria ended gas supplies to Morocco on 31 October against a backdrop of worsening relations between the nations.

Morocco’s natural gas needs are expected to triple from 1 billion cubic metres (bcm) to 3 bcm by 2040 as it looks to LNG to boost its low-carbon transition and address irregular supply of renewables, Benali said.