Morocco to shortlist 3 companies for LNG imports deal

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DUBAI, Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 6 (Reuters) - Morocco expects to shortlist three companies for its new long-term contracts to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) within the next two weeks, its energy minister said on Tuesday.

Morocco is evaluating offers from Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) as well as French, Spanish and American companies, and plans to import 2 million tonnes of LNG a year starting in 2020 as part of the first phase of its LNG import plan, Abdelkader Amara told reporters in Dubai.

"In the first phase it will be 2 million tonnes, and the second step will be from 3.5 to 4 million tonnes," Amara said.

"Yes Shell made an offer and there are also (companies) from France, from Britain, from Spain and the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .... in two weeks we will evaluate the offers and take a decision. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is likely we will have three suppliers," he said.

Morocco has launched an international tender seeking advisers for its LNG imports plan, worth up to $4.6 billion and including the import of up to 7 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas by 2025, the construction of a jetty, terminal, pipelines and gas-fired power plants.

Morocco, a net energy importer, aims to diversify energy supplies and reduce its dependence on oil and coal imports. It is also developing a plan to build 4 gigawatts of renewable energy.

It has started negotiations to secure its imports with exporting countries --including Qatar and Russia -- and private companies, Amara told Reuters earlier this year.

The kingdom is already burning 1 bcm of gas annually, including around 70 million produced locally. Gas is still only 5 percent of the country's energy bill. (Reporting by Maha El Dahan; writing by Rania El Gamal, editing by Adrian Croft and William Hardy)