Moroccan state-owned power utility ONEE has picked HSBC Middle East Limited as financial adviser and law firm Ashurst LLP as legal adviser for its plan to boost its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported.

The entire project, worth up to $4.6b, includes the import of up to 7bcm of gas by 2025, the construction of a jetty, terminal, pipelines, and gas-fired power plants. The HSBC contract is worth $7m, while Ashurst will earn around $2m, according to Noozz.

ONEE also intends to connect natural gas pipelines to the combined cycle power plants and eventually the natural gas underground storage facilities. A high-pressure gas pipeline will be built to connect the LNG terminal to the existing Maghreb-Europe high-pressure gas pipeline. Under the planned project, Morocco intends to set up 2400MW capacity of combined cycle power plants (CCGTs), which will be fired up by the natural gas provided by the LNG import terminal.

In mid-September, ONEE had launched an international tender in order to select technical advisor for the development of the country’s LNG to power project, informed LNG World News. In order to secure the increasing national demand of electricity Morocco was looking to diversify its sources of fuels supply, mainly through increasing the share of natural gas in its energy mix.