Page 12 - AfrOil Week 09 2021

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

Sanalla then asked that all parties involved dedi- possible”.
cate their efforts towards re-opening the plant as Al-Ghurair part-owns and operates Ras
soon as could reasonably be achieved. He said: Lanuf, Libya’s largest refinery, having entered
“We stress the importance of LERCO restarting into the JV through its TRASTA subsidiary in
operations at the Ras Lanuf refinery as soon as 2008. ™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Moroccan energy ministry pledges

to back Chariot’s Anchois gas project

MOROCCO MOROCCO’S Ministry of Industry, Trade and saying that the document was in line with the
Green and Digital Economy has pledged to back government’s energy strategy. “We continue to
Chariot Oil & Gas (UK) and Office National des support the development of domestic gas pros-
Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the pects to accompany the fast-growing industrial
national oil company (NOC), in the develop- sector in Morocco and contribute to its global
ment of Anchois, a natural gas field within the competitiveness by providing a cheap, clean and
offshore Lixus block. reliable source of energy,” he said.
According to a statement from Chariot, the Amina Benkhadra, the director-general of
ministry signed a memorandum of understand- ONHYM, added that the partners appreciated
ing (MoU) with the two companies earlier this the ministry’s support for the Anchois project.
week. In the document, it said it would “sup- “We are pleased to have signed this MoU with
port the Anchois gas development [project] the Ministry of Industry and Chariot, in line
to enhance job creation, regional integration with ONHYM’s mission and strategy, where we
through the development of strategic infrastruc- look to attract investment from the private sec-
ture and the promotion of clean and competi- tor to accelerate the development of resources in
tive energy for consumption by the Moroccan Morocco,” she said. “We look forward to work-
industrial sector.” ing further with our partner Chariot and assist-
Chariot did not divulge full details of the ing them with the advancement of the Lixus
MoU. It did say, though, that the memorandum offshore licence.”
anticipated that the parties would continue dis- For his part, Adonis Pouroulis, Chariot’s act-
cussions with the intent of signing additional ing CEO, said he expected the document to help
agreements related to the Anchois scheme. his company establish a foothold in Morocco’s
In the statement, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, domestic gas sector. “The signing of this MoU
Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Trade and is a significant step in our efforts to access the
Green and Digital Economy, was quoted as Moroccan gas markets,” he stated.

Anchois lies within the Lixus offshore block (Image: Chariot Oil & Gas)

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 09 03•March•2021