Editing Economy of Morocco (section)

==Energy==
{{Main|Energy policy of Morocco}}{{Further|Renewable energy in Morocco}}

Morocco has very few reserves of its own and has been affected by the high oil prices of 2007 and early 2008. The country has to import 96% of its energy requirements and the national oil bill for the first quarter of 2008 was $1.1 billion—69% higher than for the same period in 2007. According to the [[International Energy Agency]] (IEA) report 2014, Morocco is highly dependent on imported energy with over 91% of energy supplied coming from abroad.<ref>IEA (2014) "Morocco 2014 – Energy Policies Beyond IEA Countries" http://www.iea.org/Textbase/npsum/morocco2014sum.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114010335/http://www.iea.org/Textbase/npsum/morocco2014sum.pdf |date=14 January 2015 }}</ref> Morocco is working to diversify its energy sources, especially to develop renewable energy, with a particular focus on wind energy. Solar power and nuclear energy are also part of the strategy, but development of the former has been slow and there has been minimal progress on the latter, aside from an announcement of collaboration with France in 2007.

In November 2009 Morocco announced a solar energy project worth $9 billion which officials said will account for 38 percent of the North African country's installed power generation by 2020.<ref name="af.reuters.com">{{cite news| url=https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE5A202D20091103 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107191146/http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE5A202D20091103 | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 November 2009 | work=Reuters | title=Morocco unveils $9 billion solar power scheme | date=3 November 2009}}</ref> Funding would be from a mix of private and state capital. The ceremony was attended by U.S. Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] and the [[Mohammed VI of Morocco|Moroccan king]].<ref name="af.reuters.com"/> The project will involve five solar power generation sites across Morocco and will produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020.<ref name="af.reuters.com"/> Germany has expressed its willingness to participate in the development of Morocco's solar energy project<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=20&id=1252|title=Germany to participate in Morocco's solar energy project|website=moroccobusinessnews.com|access-date=30 August 2018|archive-date=24 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224154040/http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=20&id=1252|url-status=usurped}}</ref> which the country has decided to carry out, as did the [[World Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=20&id=1268|title=WB to contribute to Morocco's solar energy project|website=moroccobusinessnews.com|access-date=30 August 2018|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142132/http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=20&id=1268|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Germany will also take part in the development of a water-desalination plant.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

The government plans to reorganise its subsidy system, which is a heavy burden on government finances. In the short term these subsidies are helping to ease the burden but they cannot keep rising indefinitely, and sooner or later the load will have to be shared out. In the short term, national consumption per capita is expected to rise from the current level of 0.4 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) to as much as 0.90 toe in 2030, a good indication of development, but a massive challenge as well. The input of renewable energy is a matter of particular importance.<ref name="oxfordbusinessgroup.com"/>

According to a 2006 estimate by the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Morocco has proven oil reserves of {{convert|1070000|oilbbl}} and natural gas reserves of {{convert|60|Gcuft|m3}}. Morocco may have additional hydrocarbon reserves, as many of the country's sedimentary basins have not yet been explored. The Moroccan Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining (ONHYM) has become optimistic about finding additional reserves—particularly offshore—following discoveries in neighboring Mauritania.

Recent activity in [[Western Sahara]], which is believed to contain viable hydrocarbon reserves, has been controversial. In 2001, Morocco granted exploration contracts to [[TotalEnergies]] and [[Kerr-McGee]], angering Premier Oil and Sterling Energy, which previously had obtained licenses from the [[Polisario]] government. In 2005, the government-in-exile of the Western Sahara invited foreign companies to bid on 12 contracts for offshore exploration, with hopes of awarding production sharing contracts by the end of 2005.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Total energy consumption in [[Terrawatt-hour]]s (TWh) <ref>{{Cite web |title=Primary energy consumption |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/primary-energy-cons?tab=chart&country=~GHA |website=Our World in Data}}</ref>
!1970
!1980
!1990
!2000
!2010
!2020
!2023
|-
|30 
|{{Increase}}61 
|{{Increase}}83 
|{{Increase}}117 
|{{Increase}}195 
|{{Increase}}243 
|{{Increase}}271 
|-
!
! colspan="6" |Per capita consumption in [[Kilowatt-hour]]s (KWh)<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Energy use per person |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/per-capita-energy-use?showSelectionOnlyInTable=1&country=~KEN |website=Our World in Data}}</ref>
|-
|1,989 
|{{Increase}}3,088 
|{{Increase}}3,368 
|{{Increase}}4,114 
|{{Increase}}6,005 
|{{Increase}}6,611 
|{{Increase}}7,169 
|}