Morocco switches on two power plants after reversal of gas pipeline

Morocco managed within a short period to ensure gas supply for two small powerplants supplying northern Morocco.

The power plants of Tahaddart and Ain Béni Mathar operating with LNG have started to be supplied with gas through the Maghreb-Europe pipeline, after Morocco and Spain reversed the flow of gas last week, Moroccan electricity utility ONE said.

Morocco’s energy minister Leila Benali has confirmed months ago Morocco will tap the international natural gas market and use Spanish regasification infrastructure to pump the gas back to Morocco through the pipeline.

The pipeline used to channel Algerian gas to Morocco and Spain until Algiers decided unilaterally to put a halt to supplies last October, in a tactic that was aimed to undermine Morocco and Spain but ended up curtailing Algeria’s market share in the European gas market.

Moroccan authorities had deplored the Algerian unilateral decision of halting gas supplies, but said the move had “insignificant impact” on the Kingdom’s supply of electricity as the country has built a resilient energy mix based on renewable energies to fuel its low-carbon and green economy transition.