Natural gas discoveries in Morocco are concentrated in two production basins, namely the Gharb basin and the Essaouira (Meskala) basin, and an area under development in the Tendrara basin. This is what the Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), Amina Benkhadra, has just declared before Parliament. The Gharb basin, continues the same source, is one of the basins that have experienced intense exploration activity, which has led to the discovery and exploitation of numerous wells, and it is exploited within the framework of a partnership between the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines up to 25% and “SDX Energy” up to 75%. Exploration and drilling efforts carried out under the partnership between the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines and “SDX Energy”, over the past five years, have resulted in the drilling of 22 wells which have led to 16 discoveries natural gas, and 14 wells have been connected to the region’s gas pipeline network, said the official. Moreover, the discoveries made in the Gharb basin generally contain dry gas (99% methane), which facilitates their exploitation, explaining that despite their modest size so far, their exploitation has proven to be profitable. because of the ease of access by drilling and also because of the presence of customers in the same region. In this context, the quantities produced and marketed have increased since 2018, an increase mainly due to the signing of new natural gas marketing contracts.
For its part, the Essaouira basin (Meskala) is one of the regions that have experienced intensive exploration operations and which have led to the discovery of the Meskala field, considered one of the most important discoveries ever. done so far in Morocco.
To date, 11 wells have been drilled resulting in the presence of natural gas attached to the condensate. Natural gas and condensate are marketed to meet the energy needs of the OCP phosphate drying and calcining units in Youssoufia. Furthermore, the gas pipeline network of the Essaouira basin is mainly made up of an 8-inch gas pipeline with a length of 125 km linking the “MLK” station and the OCP, in addition to the 6-inch gas pipeline with a length of 30 km. Annual production from this field is 30 million cubic meters of natural gas and 3,500 tonnes of condensate.