The discovery of the Lagzira oil field in Morocco, formerly known as the Sidi Moussa field, dates back to 2012. During this period, the Australian company, Bora Vida Energy, was engaged in oil and gas exploration along Morocco's western coast, leading to the revelation of significant reserves of crude oil in the region, alongside substantial quantities of natural gas. According to data from specialized oil and gas platforms based in Washington, the Australian company announced that Morocco could potentially harbor important reserves of crude oil, estimated to surpass 3 billion barrels in this area.
In the same year, another Australian firm, Longreach Oil and Gas, stated that the region west of Agadir contained two major oil fields: the first being Foum Draa and the second, Sidi Moussa, which was later renamed Lagzira. The company estimated the reserves in these fields to be approximately 751.7 million barrels for Foum Draa and around 6.1 billion barrels for Lagzira, in addition to natural gas quantities ranging between 3.2 billion cubic feet and 3.145 trillion cubic feet.
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Insight into the Lagzira Oil Field
Information from Australian companies regarding the existence of crude oil reserves in the Lagzira field remained under exploration, particularly with the entry of British firm Genel Energy into the fray in 2014, commencing its oil drilling operations at Sidi Moussa. However, in a surprising turn of events in May 2025, Genel Energy withdrew from Morocco, relinquishing its stake to the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining. Upon investigating this withdrawal, the energy platform discovered that the company deemed the investment in the field unviable, although this reasoning was not disclosed in its annual report for 2025, which was followed by the removal of the Moroccan field from its asset listings on their website.
Genel had acquired an exploration license for the offshore field at depths ranging from 200 to 1200 meters, adhering to an established oil system since drilling its first well, SM-1, off the coast of Sidi Ifni in Morocco. Through its drilling activities, the company successfully extracted crude oil from the upper Jurassic reservoirs and fractured reservoirs of the same era, prompting Morocco to rely on it for future projects and renew its contracts with the firm into new agreements, as reported by the specialized energy platform. According to a statement from the company in March 2023, it managed to secure a partnership and sign an oil agreement with the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining to continue oil exploration in the Lagzira oil field, sharing a stake of 75% against 25% for the office. The 3D seismic survey acquired by Genel Energy in 2018 significantly improved subsurface imaging, raising expectations for further exploration in the broader Sidi Moussa area.
Reserves of the Lagzira Oil Field
Prior to its exit, Genel Energy indicated that the extractable reserves of the Lagzira oil field currently exceed 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, distributed across 18 promising areas. The quantities of oil in these regions are estimated to range between 100 and 700 million barrels of oil equivalent per area, according to data from the specialized energy platform.
The Lagzira oil field holds substantial importance for Morocco, as the country aims to reduce a significant portion of its energy import bill, particularly since it has been compelled to purchase quantities of Russian oil and petroleum derivatives. The Moroccan economy is striving to withstand fluctuations in global energy markets by seeking alternatives to oil and gas imports, increasingly turning toward renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and green hydrogen. However, these measures are still not sufficient at this stage.
As reported by attaqa.net.
