Morocco Plans to Tighten Monitoring of Natural Gas Quality
Morocco is moving towards establishing a new legal framework to monitor the quality of natural gas, in line with the provisions of Decree No. 2.23.962 related to the import, export, refining, packaging, and distribution of hydrocarbons.
The draft decision, prepared by the Energy Transition sector, and opened for public comment by the General Secretariat of the Government, aims to define the mechanisms for monitoring the quality of natural gas both upon importation and when released for consumption, while enhancing the administration’s capabilities to conduct inspection and analysis operations.
The project indicates that this initiative follows coordination with the Directorate of Customs and Indirect Taxes, the Moroccan Institute for Standardization, and the Oilmen’s Association in Morocco. Its goal is to regulate sampling methods and analysis, and to set the specifications that natural gas must meet to ensure that the domestic market is supplied with standard-compliant products.
The source noted that natural gas fuel differs from conventional natural gas in terms of properties and uses; the former is used as fuel for vehicles over short to medium distances, while natural gas is allocated for major industrial uses, requiring cryogenic equipment, liquefaction units, and specialized thermal storage tanks.
The draft also stipulates that sampling should be conducted according to a protocol that conforms to the approved Moroccan specifications or based on recognized international standards, ensuring the statistical and physicochemical representativeness of samples, utilizing means approved by the relevant authorities.
Quality monitoring tasks will be assigned to agents affiliated with the government entity responsible for energy, along with accredited laboratories, with the possibility of sampling upon importation to verify compliance with specifications. A sample will be considered non-compliant if it does not meet the requirements of the standard measurements NM ISO 15403-1 and NM ISO/TR 15403-2, necessitating re-export or treatment of the imported fuel.
The project emphasizes that the responsibility for the compliance of natural gas fuel lies with the distributor, transferring to the official in charge of the monitoring point in cases of seal violations or changes without justification, obligating the distributor to notify the government authority about the sealing system used upon releasing fuel for consumption.
Thus, Morocco aims to ensure the quality of natural gas fuel and protect consumers, while implementing strict regulations for the stages of importation, storage, and distribution based on precise and transparent standards.
