06 Jul 2022
The Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines has signed an agreement with Ratio Petroleum an Israel company that secures exploration rights at Dakhla Atlantic in Morocco. This agreement allows the Israeli company to explore gas or hydrocarbons off the coast of Dakhla, a city located in Western Sahara. According to the news reported by Energia News, an Israeli news agency, the company is going to carry out geological, geochemical, and geophysical research and studies in this region.
Through this agreement, the Ratio Petroleum company holds 100 per cent rights to the exploration of oil and gas in an area of 109,000 square kilometres. The Israeli company is allowed to search for gas or hydrocarbons in deep waters up to 3,000 meters. The agreement between Ratio Petroleum and the Moroccan establishment is signed for a period of eight years, and if the Israeli company discovers natural resources from the region, it will extend for two more years.
According to the national law of Morocco, upon the discovery of hydrocarbons and oil from the region, the country will collect 7 percent of the hydrocarbons found more than 200 meters underwater, with a production of more than 500,000 tonnes, and 3.5 percent of the natural gas for production of more than 500,000 cubic meters. The Moroccan Media Le360 reported that Ratio Petroleum company has ownership over 15% of Israel’s largest exploration field and further they are developing projects in countries like the Philippines, Guyana, and Suriname.
To explore the promising hydrocarbon resources in the country, Morocco has attracted many other potential international companies also. As per the report of El Espanol, the Israeli company said that Morocco has a sustainable background of hydrocarbon exploration along the coast of its ocean, however, with the limitless economic area of Moroccan waters, it is still a preliminary activity. Israeli company also said that there are several sedimentary basins with the capability for active petroleum systems along the Atlantic Ocean coast.
Al-Hussein Al-Yamani, the Secretary-General of the National Union of Oil and Gas Industries said that the new agreement comes within the framework of the agreements that Rabat and Tel Aviv have begun to conclude in many areas, since the decision to renew the relationship between the countries. Apart from the new agreement, General Mostafa Rabii, Director of the Cyber Security Directorate of the Moroccan Department of National Defense has also signed an agreement with Israel to cooperate in the field of cybersecurity and defense.
To accelerate the pace of cooperation between the two countries they had signed bilateral agreements in several fields such as technology, culture, sports, etc. As a part of this, Israeli airlines have launched regular routes to Moroccan airports. On the other hand, diplomatic relations between the two countries are also in an excellent position. The two countries have agreed to officially open embassies in each capital.
Among the promising sectors for the bilateral agreement that Morocco and Israel seek to include is the energy sector, in addition to the fields of aviation, tourism, innovation, agriculture, environment, investment, trade, and research.
SDX Energy and Predator Oil & Gas are the other countries active in Morocco and the Moroccan had invested MAD 1.44 billion along with other foreign countries for the exploration of oil and gas in different areas across the country. Visit our official website to know more about the latest legal updates.
.