LNG

Morocco, the North African kingdom advancing plans for floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) tenders to improve energy security, has also just acquired a UK company’s Moroccan natural gas assets and an LNG production project.

Morocco is moving ahead with plans for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and several more FSRUs in the future as part of an expansion in natural gas imports amid hopes of more production of gas from discoveries onshore and offshore the North African kingdom.

Morocco has signed a liquefied natural gas supply agreement with Shell for a period pf 12 years that will initially see volumes shipped as cargoes to Spain and onwards as pipeline gas across the Mediterranean to Moroccan gas-fired power plants.

NewMed Energy, the Israeli company considering a floating liquefied natural gas plant to further develop the Leviathan gas field in the East Mediterranean, has expanded its activities by signing agreements for an exploration licence targeting gas offshore Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean.

NewMed signed an accord with Adarco Energy Ltd and Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines for natural gas and/or oil exploration and production activity in the Boujdour Atlantique exploration licence.

According to the agreements, NewMed will hold 37.5 percent of the interests in the exploration licence. Adarco will own 37.5 percent and the remaining 25 percent has been granted to Morocco’s ONHYM, the above body’s name in French, Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).

NewMed’s East Med options include an FLNG facility or a pipeline connections to Egyptian liquefaction plants located east of Alexandria.

Among its assets, NewMed holds the rights to 45 percent of the Leviathan offshore gas field with the other major shareholder in the field being US major Chevron Corp. A smaller stake is held by Israel's Avner.

NewMed, which announced its name change from Delek Drilling in February 2022, also has its stake in the Aphrodite gas field in Cyprus's offshore economic zone waters, making it one of the biggest players in the East Med.

Moroccan potential

NewMed said that the North African kingdom had enormous geological and commercial potential.

The Boujdour Atlantique licence is in the south of Morocco’s EEZ and will be issued for a total of eight years.

According to the work plan, 30 months from the date of the granting of the licence, a geological and geophysical analysis will be performed in the area of interest and an initial exploration drilling is planned after around 2.5 years.

A statement said that the agreements were contingent on receipt of approval from Morocco’s Ministry of Energy Transition and sustainable development and from the Ministry of Finance.

“From one day to the next we are expanding our international operations and becoming a global body in every respect,” said Yossi Abu, Chief Executive of NewMed.

“We have long identified enormous potential in Morocco and the announcement is part of an extensive strategic move that will render NewMed Energy the leading energy body in the East Mediterranean region and North Africa,” stated Abu.

Harry Murphy, Director of Adarco, said his company’s principals have been active in the energy market for many years.

“We are delighted to be entering the Moroccan natural gas exploration sector in partnership with NewMed Energy, a leading energy company which has invested massively in the petroleum industry and has been involved in major discoveries over the past 30 years,” Murphy declared. 

The kingdom of Morocco said it was considering setting up a fast-track floating LNG import terminal near the port of Tangier after Algeria carried out a threat to cut pipeline natural gas supplies to its North African neighbour, closing one of two trans-Mediterranean pipelines serving Spain.

Sound Energy, the UK company with natural gas assets in Morocco and an LNG production proposal, has reported progress on several fronts, including sales, finance and engineering.

The company is planning to develop a micro-LNG plant for the Tendrara 5-Horst gas well in its Tendrara production concession in eastern Morocco, near the Algerian border.

The micro-LNG plant is part of a full field development plan centred around the construction of a 120-kilometre pipeline going north to link with the Maghreb-Europe pipeline.

Graham Lyon, Executive Chairman, said that there had been positive developments for the Tendrara concession, including on a commercial gas sales contracts and Phase 1 engineering of the micro-LNG plant.

A company called Afriquia Gaz SA has signed a conditional LNG sales agreement.

Afriquia Gaz  is Morocco-based and is currently engaged in the refining and marketing of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

“The agreement covers a 10-year, take-or-pay LNG sale and purchase at Tendrara,” said Lyon.

Sound Energy is also negotiating an $18 million loan from Afriquia Gaz.

The company added that there has also been activity covering the pipeline development discussions.

“A huge amount of work has been completed so far this year and much remains to be concluded during the remainder of 2021,” said Chairman Lyon.

“Having secured a long-term LNG sales agreement with Afriquia Gaz, we have established a route to market for our gas and following completion of the proposed $18M loan from Afriquia Gaz, the company will have financing for the Sound Energy share of the Phase 1 development,” he explained.

Afriquia Gaz has received £2.0 million ($2.8M) of share equity at 1.25 UK pence per share in connection with the LNG sales agreement, thus providing Sound Energy with more liquidity.

The LNG sales agreement with Afriquia Gaz commits the buyer to purchase not less than 100,000 cubic metres per annum produced and liquified from the Phase 1 development concession joint venture.

“With important catalysts to come in the near term, I look forward to updating shareholders further as we progress towards the development phase of the project and to becoming a revenue generating business,” he stated.

The company said the Tendrara Horst field would help provide domestic LNG to industrial users in Morocco, displacing presently imported fuels with a deeper carbon footprint.

Sound Energy was also able to successfully restructure its Luxembourg-listed €28.8M, 5-percent senior secured notes by engaging proactively with noteholders to agree a suitable restructuring without substantial equity dilution.

Qatar Petroleum, the leading liquefied natural gas producer, has signed an agreement to acquire a stake in 12 exploration blocks offshore Morocco as the Gulf nation continues to increase its international exploration and production activities.

June 18 (LNG) - SDX Energy Inc., the UK-based exploration company, has made another natural gas discovery in Egypt at its South Disouq concession. The well was drilled to a total depth of 7,806 feet and encountered 89 feet of net conventional natural gas pay. SDX also completed a test programme at its LMS-1 well in the Lalla Mimouna Nord permit in Morocco. Egypt is seeking to end LNG imports amid abundant domestic gas supply while Morocco has one LNG import project in development. “Overall we are very pleased with our recent drilling activity. In Morocco we had seven successful results from our nine well program and in Egypt we have had three successes out of the four wells drilled,” said SDX Chief Executive Paul Welch. “I am looking forward to updating our shareholders on the well test results and progress we are making on our development activity,” he added.

Jan 24 (LNGJ) - SDX Energy Inc., the oil and gas company focused on North Africa and whose shares are listed in London and Toronto, said it made another natural gas discovery at its Onz-7 development well on the Sebou permit in Morocco. The latest Moroccan gas find is relatively small in scale and the country is still planning to import LNG to supplement its growing energy needs. The Onz-7 well was drilled to a total depth of 1,167 metres with 5 metres of net conventional natural gas pay. “The well came in on prognosis but reservoir quality exceeded initial expectations,” said SDX. The well will now be completed, tested and connected to existing infrastructure. “We are very excited to be able to announce another discovery, the fourth from five wells drilled to date in our nine well Moroccan campaign,” said Paul Welch, Chief Executive of SDX.

SDX Energy Inc., the UK-listed oil and gas company, has made its third successive onshore natural gas discovery in Morocco as the North African country pursues an LNG import project to improve gas availability for industry and power.