China EV Battery Maker to Build Cathode Plant in Morocco

A general view of Tanger-Med container port in Ksar Sghir near the coastal city of Tangier, Morocco, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
A general view of Tanger-Med container port in Ksar Sghir near the coastal city of Tangier, Morocco, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
TT

China EV Battery Maker to Build Cathode Plant in Morocco

A general view of Tanger-Med container port in Ksar Sghir near the coastal city of Tangier, Morocco, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo
A general view of Tanger-Med container port in Ksar Sghir near the coastal city of Tangier, Morocco, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo

The Moroccan government gave the green light on Friday for Chinese electric battery maker BTR New Material Group to build a factory near Tangier to produce key component cathode.
The plant, to be built at a cost of 3 billion dirhams ($300 million), will have a production capacity of 50,000 tons, Morocco’s investment ministry said.
The first output of 25,000 tons is expected in September 2026, the ministry said in a statement following the signing of the investment deal with BTR.
Moroccan officials have often pitched the country as a good location for EV battery factories because of its existing auto industry and renewable energy sectors, and the presence of raw materials including cobalt and phosphates.
Stellantis-owned Citroen has a plant in Kenitra in northwest Morocco with capacity to produce 50,000 supermini electric cars, while Renault and Stellantis-owned Peugeot make combustion-engine cars in Morocco, which is also a base for a cluster of car parts makers.



Exports from Libya's Hariga Oil Port Stop as Crude Supply Dries Up, Say Engineers

A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
TT

Exports from Libya's Hariga Oil Port Stop as Crude Supply Dries Up, Say Engineers

A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)

The Libyan oil export port of Hariga has stopped operating due to insufficient crude supplies, two engineers at the terminal told Reuters on Saturday, as a standoff between rival political factions shuts most of the country's oilfields.

This week's flare-up in a dispute over control of the central bank threatens a new bout of instability in the North African country, a major oil producer that is split between eastern and western factions.

The eastern-based administration, which controls oilfields that account for almost all the country's production, are demanding western authorities back down over the replacement of the central bank governor - a key position in a state where control over oil revenue is the biggest prize for all factions.

Exports from Hariga stopped following the near-total shutdown of the Sarir oilfield, the port's main supplier, the engineers said.

Sarir normally produces about 209,000 barrels per day (bpd). Libya pumped about 1.18 million bpd in July in total.

Libya's National Oil Corporation NOC, which controls the country's oil resources, said on Friday the recent oilfield closures have caused the loss of approximately 63% of total oil production.