The British group accuses Morocco of having compromised its investment estimated at 2.2 billion dollars, after the rejection of its environmental study. Arbitration is expected to last for about two years.
The company Emmerson Plc, carrying a potash project in the Khemisset region, in northern Morocco, announced that it has taken a new stage in its dispute with the Moroccan authorities. The London -based group officially submitted an arbitration request to the International Center for the settlement of investment disputes (ICSID), under the World Bank. This legal action aims to obtain full compensation after Emmerson considers an expropriation of her project, of which she estimated the value at 2.2 billion dollars.
The company bases its approach on the bilateral investment treaty signed in 1990 between the United Kingdom and Morocco, and entered into force in 2002. It criticizes the Moroccan state and its representatives for having violated several commitments of this treaty, in particular in connection with the protection of foreign investments.
A procedure started after the rejection of the environmental impact study of the project
The tension between Emmerson and the Moroccan public parties was born following the rejection of the environmental impact study of the project by the unified regional investment commission (SUI) at the end of 2024. This refusal had been motivated by a concern about the consumption of projected water, deemed incompatible with local water capacities. Faced with the lack of official response to its dispute notification, the British company has decided to resort to international arbitration.
The request brought to the ICSID marks the official launch of this procedure. It exhibits the general context of the dispute as well as the grievances formulated by Emmerson. The Boie Boie Flexner law firm, mandated by the company, is responsible for supervising the rest of the process. These include forming the arbitral tribunal, writing a detailed memory of complaints, then preparing the subsequent phases, including written exchanges and hearings.
According to the forecasts communicated by Emmerson, the entire procedure could be spread over two years. Specific funding, confirmed in January 2025 and endowed with $ 11.2 million, was set up to cover costs related to the dispute, including legal fees as well as a significant part of the company’s general costs. To date, a first envelope of 850,000 pounds sterling (approximately 10.7 million dirhams) has been mobilized.
The Khemisset project is Emmerson’s main asset. It relies on resources estimated at more than 311 million tonnes, with an average content of 10.2 % in potassium oxide. The preliminary economic study published in 2018 had placed Khemisset among the most competitive potash projects in terms of costs worldwide. Its location was also presented as a logistics asset to serve African and European markets.
The company said it will publish new information as the procedure evolves. On the Moroccan side, no official reaction has yet been made public.
