HIBAPRESS – Follow-up
The Council of Advisors, today, Tuesday, May 5th, during a legislative session, approved by a majority the draft law No. 56.24, which provides for the conversion of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals into a public limited company.
The draft law received the approval of 26 parliamentary advisors, while two parliamentary advisors abstained from voting.
The Committee on Productive Sectors in the Council of Advisors had approved, on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, the same draft law, in a step that falls within the framework of the reform of public institutions and companies, and the strengthening of the governance of this strategic actor in the energy and minerals sectors.
The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Laila Benali, confirmed during the presentation and discussion of the draft law that the text falls within the framework of activating the royal vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aimed at a comprehensive reform of the public sector, and it also constitutes part of the implementation of the framework law No. 50.12 related to the reform of public institutions and companies, in addition to law No. 82.20 related to the establishment of the National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Contributions and the follow-up of the efficiency of the performance of public institutions and companies.
Benali explained that the conversion of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals into a public limited company should not be read as an isolated measure, but rather as a link within a broad reform process that concerns a number of strategic public institutions and companies.
She added that this text constitutes the first draft law to reach the legislative institution within this path, which gives it special importance within the workshop of restructuring the public sector and modernizing its mechanisms.
The minister stressed that the conversion of the office into a public limited company does not mean its privatization, explaining that it is a new institutional model that aims to increase efficiency, improve governance, and strengthen the ability to interact with investment and risk challenges in a sector characterized by great specificity.
Benali highlighted that the specificity of the minerals and hydrocarbons sector requires greater flexibility in management, and speed in keeping pace with the challenges of exploration and investment, especially in relation to major projects in the field of natural gas and the infrastructure associated with it.
The minister recalled, in this context, the royal speech on the occasion of the Throne Day on July 29, 2020, in which His Majesty the King called for accelerating a deep reform of the public sector, and addressing the structural imbalances of public institutions and companies.
She also confirmed that the actual beneficiaries of this reform will be tens of thousands of families and workers associated with the productive sectors, especially in industrial and processing activities related to natural resources.
Benali pointed out that the government has been working on this project for three years, with a keenness to follow up on its various aspects, especially those related to the status of employees and the guarantees granted to them, within a framework that preserves rights and ensures the institutional transition in clear circumstances.
The minister noted that this reform accompanies parallel workshops that include reviewing the legal framework, launching structured projects, modernizing management mechanisms, in addition to digitizing and simplifying procedures.
She considered that these transformations would overcome the administrative complexities that have burdened the sector for years, and give it a new dynamic more consistent with the ongoing economic and investment transformations.
The vote on draft law No. 56.24 indicates the entry of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals into a new institutional phase, the title of which is improving governance, increasing efficiency, and strengthening the ability to keep pace with major investments, within a broader workshop to restructure strategic public institutions.
