RABAT, Jan 22 – Morocco is moving to reshape the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) as pressure to secure gas supplies and energy infrastructure stays high.
Energy Transition Minister, Leila Benali told parliament that the government wants to turn ONHYM into a joint stock company, a legal shift that would help the state make faster decisions and strengthen the agency’s financial and operational capacity.
Benali linked the plan to the disruption Morocco faced after gas supplies stopped in 2021, a period which exposed weaknesses in the country’s energy setup.
The agency is also widening its role beyond oil and minerals going into areas tied to the energy transition, including gas storage, hydrogen preparation, and carbon dioxide capture and storage.
Amina Benkhadra, ONHYM’s director general, said the agency launched a national study in September 2025 on the potential for geological storage of natural gas, hydrogen, and CO2, with the goal of building structural capacity for energy security.
In the near term, ONHYM is prioritising strategic gas storage linked to three projects: the optimisation of the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline, the Atlantic African Gas Pipeline, and the liquefied natural gas terminal planned for Nador.
The Atlantic African Gas Pipeline is expected to reach key steps in 2026 with critical steps complete for the offshore and onshore route, and 2026 is slated for a final investment decision on the southern segment and the start of preparatory work. The corridor would connect West Africa to Morocco and Europe.
ONHYM is also promoting data access to attract partners as the agency provides geological and geophysical information that includes 246,000 kilometres of two dimensional seismic data and 70,000 square kilometres of three dimensional seismic data, along with well logs and basin studies.
To support this push, the agency is strengthening ties abroad as it signed two protocols in October 2025 with Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation and Fujairah Oil Industry Zone to cooperate on geological data, mapping, and energy storage and industrial zones.
These projects are designed to drive local impact and every investment made towards this regard generates equal measure in partner investment.
