Israeli company NewMed Energy has announced that it has signed an agreement with Morocco and Adarco Energy for offshore natural gas exploration and production licences in the North African kingdom.
Under the terms of the agreements, NewMed and Adarco will each hold a 37.5% stake in the Boujdour Atlantique exploration licence, located off the Moroccan coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines will hold the remaining 25%.
« Nous avons depuis longtemps identifié un énorme potentiel au Maroc et l’annonce d’aujourd’hui fait partie d’une vaste initiative stratégique qui fera de NewMed Energy le principal organisme énergétique de la région de la Méditerranée orientale et de l’Afrique du Nord », a déclaré le PDG de NewMed, Yossi Abu, dans un communiqué.
The 8-year exploration licence at Boujdour Atlantique, located in the south of Morocco's offshore economic zone, includes prospects for natural gas and oil discoveries. According to the work plan, within 30 months of the licence award date, geological and geophysical analysis will be carried out in the area of interest, with initial exploration drilling expected to commence after approximately 2.5 years.
The agreements still need to be approved by the Moroccan Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Finance. Morocco normalised its relations with Israel in December 2020, as part of the US-backed Abraham Accords that opened diplomatic relations between the Jewish state and several Arab countries.
S’exprimant lors de la conférence sur le climat COP27 à Charm el-Cheikh le mois dernier, Abu a réitéré son intérêt pour l’Égypte et le Maroc en tant que « base pour la production d’hydrogène vert ».
The signing of the agreements comes after NewMed, formerly Delek Drilling (part of Yitzhak Tshuva's Delek Group), announced in August a joint cooperation with Enlight Energy to promote renewable energy projects in the Middle East and North Africa, including in countries with which Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations.
The partners said at the time that they were looking at renewable energy markets in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - both signatories to the Abraham Accords - as well as the oil giants of Saudi Arabia and Oman. Enlight and NewMed sought to focus on solar, wind and energy storage projects.
NewMed is also a key player in the Israeli Leviathan off the Mediterranean coast and has been involved in the development of the Tamar, Karish and Tanin natural gas fields.
Last month, Israeli hydrogen company H2Pro and Moroccan renewable energy developer Gaia Energy signed a strategic agreement to supply green hydrogen.