Shell Signs Exclusive Deal for 150,000 Tonnes of Moroccan Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Shell Trading Rotterdam B.V., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has signed a long-term products offtake agreement with Green Sky Manara LLC for a planned facility at Port Nador, Morocco.
The agreement would give Shell exclusive offtake rights for approximately 150,000 tonnes a year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or an equivalent volume of hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), plus bionaphtha and biopropane from the Port Nador plant, which is scheduled to start up in October 2028.
“This agreement supports Shell’s strategy by helping customers access low-carbon fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel while building resilient and commercially viable supply chains,” said Richard Jory, Executive Vice-President of Products Trading at Shell.
SAF is one of the options available to the aviation sector as it works to reduce its lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, although SAF does not eliminate emissions. As demand grows, access to reliable SAF supply remains a key challenge for airlines and fuel suppliers. Shell’s approach is to help connect feedstock, producers, infrastructure and customers through long-term agreements, trading capabilities and logistics networks that can help scale SAF availability.
The Morocco agreement follows an earlier long-term arrangement linked to a planned hydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) facility being developed by Green Sky Capital in Egypt.
These agreements form part of Shell’s broader portfolio of SAF supply which includes offtake arrangements from plants in Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and the United States. This portfolio supports customers across key aviation markets and helps connect feedstocks, producers and end users through Shell’s global trading and supply network.
Shell is one of the world’s largest SAF traders and suppliers, offering SAF at over 80 airports in 18 countries.
Under the agreement, the SAF is expected to be produced from feedstocks such as used cooking oil, animal fats, vegetable oils or other lipid-based materials and is required to meet the ASTM D7566 aviation fuel specification. It must also be supported by sustainability documentation issued under a European Commission-approved voluntary certification scheme (such as ISCC EU). SAF is not emissions-free: its lifecycle emissions depend on the feedstock and production pathway.
Green Sky Capital, an affiliate of Green Sky Manara LLC, is also developing a HEFA plant in Egypt which is expected to provide up to 145,000 tonnes a year of SAF from the end of 2027.
