Shell Signs Exclusive Offtake Deal for Up to 150,000 Tonnes a Year of SAF from Planned $239 Million Moroccan Plant
Why It MattersThe deal shows a major fuel trader locking in waste-based SAF supply at the planning stage, with development-bank and climate-fund financing still pending, as it widens its sourcing beyond existing projects.
Shell announced on 2 November 2026 a long-term agreement with Green Sky Manara LLC, part of the Green Sky Capital group, to buy renewable fuels from a planned production facility at Port Nador within the Nador West Med development on Morocco's Mediterranean coast. Shell Trading Rotterdam B.V., a Shell subsidiary, will hold exclusive purchasing rights to approximately 150,000 tonnes a year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), or an equivalent volume of hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) used as renewable diesel. The agreement also covers bionaphtha and biopropane.
The project has an estimated investment cost of $239 million. Green Sky Capital aims to produce between 176,000 and 200,000 tonnes of SAF annually, a design-capacity figure that differs from the roughly 150,000 tonnes covered by Shell's purchasing rights. The plant is to use waste-based feedstocks, including used cooking oil, animal fats and food-processing residues, and will also produce renewable diesel, bionaphtha and biopropane.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering financing of up to $135 million, including a $50 million uncommitted tranche; the bank's project record lists an $85 million committed tranche in the proposed structure. The record shows the project as pending concept review, with 2 December 2026 given as the anticipated approval date, so the financing has not yet been finally approved. Up to $20 million of the proposed loan is expected to come from the Green Climate Fund, and the package would include a European Union guarantee.
The project is expected to create around 400 jobs during construction and employ about 162 people once operational. Shell said it currently supplies SAF at more than 80 airports in 18 countries, and the Moroccan agreement adds to supply arrangements that also include projects in Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and the United States. Richard Jory, Shell's Executive Vice-President of Products Trading, said the agreement supports Shell's strategy by helping customers access low-carbon fuels such as SAF while building resilient and commercially viable supply chains.
