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Morocco Achieves 83% of its Sea Fishing Development Plan

Fishing boats docked in the harbor of Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city. (AFP)
Fishing boats docked in the harbor of Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city. (AFP)
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Morocco Achieves 83% of its Sea Fishing Development Plan

Fishing boats docked in the harbor of Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city. (AFP)
Fishing boats docked in the harbor of Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city. (AFP)

Sea fishing production in Morocco rose 2.3 percent annually in recent years in terms of quantity and 7.2 percent in terms of value.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch noted that production stands at 1.37 million tons, which is 83 percent of the specified target in Halieutis program to develop the sector between 2010 and 2020.

He made his remarks during a press conference on the sidelines of the Halieutis expo in Agadir that is seeing the participation of 300 exhibitors from 40 countries.

The value of sea fishing output totaled MAD11.6 billion (USD1.3 billion) and the volume of fish exports reached 717,000 tons, marking an annual growth average of 5 percent during this period.

The value of these exports reached MAD22 billion (USD2.3 billion), representing 9 percent of the country’s exports and 45 percent of its food industries exports.

Akhannouch added that the sea fishing sector currently offers jobs for 108,000 on boats and 97,000 on land, noting that key goals include increasing the local consumption of fish and raising the sector’s contribution in achieving food security.

Per capita consumption of fish in Morocco rose from 11 kg to 14 kg since the launch of the program eight years ago.

During this period, the sector attracted MAD2.6 billion (USD295 million) in private investments, MAD2.2 billion (USD274 million) of them were for new licenses.

Akhannouch stated that the annual growth rate of investments in processing industries related to sea fishing reached 13 percent.

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Saudi Oil Giant Expands Investments Through Local, International Acquisitions

Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Oil Giant Expands Investments Through Local, International Acquisitions

Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”). (Photo: Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Aramco has made a series of local and international acquisitions to expand its business and fulfill its commitment to its partners to achieve its long-term strategy.
On Wednesday, the company announced its acquisition of an additional stake of 22.5% in Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (Petro Rabigh), a refining and petrochemical complex located on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, in a $702 million (SAR 2.63 billion) transaction.
Aramco also signed a definitive agreement to purchase the shares, worth SAR 7 per share, from Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical. Both companies currently each own 37.5% of the shares in Petro Rabigh, which was listed on the Saudi Exchange in 2008.
In March, Aramco successfully completed the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Esmax Distribución SpA (“Esmax”), a leading diversified downstream fuels and lubricants retailer in Chile. Esmax has a national presence that includes retail fuel stations, airport operations, fuel distribution terminals and a lubricant blending plant.

In September 2023, Aramco signed definitive agreements to acquire a strategic minority stake in MidOcean Energy for $500 million. MidOcean Energy is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors.
This strategic partnership with MidOcean Energy marked Aramco’s first international investment in LNG.
Moreover, in May 2024, Aramco made further progress in its global retail expansion by completing the acquisition of a 40% equity stake in Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. (“GO”).
GO is a diversified downstream fuels, lubricants and retail store operator in Pakistan with a network of more than 1,200 retail fuel stations. The acquisition, first announced in December 2023, represented Aramco’s first downstream retail investment in Pakistan and signaled the company’s growing retail presence in high-value markets.
In June this year, Saudi Aramco signed agreements to acquire a 10% equity interest in HORSE Powertrain Limited, the new global powertrain solutions company, alongside Renault Group, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, and Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (“Geely”).
HORSE Powertrain Limited was formed on May 31, 2024, by Renault Group and Geely and is incorporated and headquartered in London.
Commenting on the signing of the recent agreement with Petro Rabigh, Hussain Al-Qahtani, Aramco Senior Vice President of Fuels, said: “Aramco continues to identify opportunities to strengthen its downstream value chain, secure placement of its upstream crude oil with affiliated refineries, and convert more of its hydrocarbons into high-value materials.”
He continued: “By increasing our shareholding, we expect to achieve even closer integration with Petro Rabigh and facilitate its turnaround strategy. We look forward to building on our existing relationship with Petro Rabigh, in alignment with our strategic goals.”