Mauritania is owned by the British oil company British Petroleum (BP) and US-based Cosmos Energy in the field in Mauritanian Atlantic waters. Mauritania will start producing liquefied natural gas for the first time from November or December 2023, according to Mauritania’s Oil Minister Abdeslam Ould Mohamed Saleh, according to EFE news agency.
The minister said the first production will take place at the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas plant in the Gulf of Guinea, off the Mauritanian-Senegal border. The gas field is considered one of the largest gas fields in the Gulf of Guinea, with a total cost of $4.6 billion and capable of producing up to 10 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year. According to the Mauritanian Minister, the GTA is one of the deepest projects in the world and will require the use of new technology being used for the first time.
Mauritania’s Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines said in a statement that the gas field, named ‘BirAllah’, holds about 2.26 billion cubic meters of gas, representing a 29% share of Mauritania’s revenue. added that it would be He explained that production from the field in a timely manner would provide sufficient gas resources to enable Mauritania to achieve gas liquefaction options to become a future gas producer. Engineering studies for the project are expected to be completed within 30 months, followed by a final investment decision in the first half of 2025.
The European Union’s hunger for gasAfrica has large natural gas reserves and North African countries such as Algeria already have pipelines connected to Europe, but lack of infrastructure and security concerns. Concerns prevented producers in other parts of the continent from increasing their exports for a long time.
Offshore gas fields in Senegal and Mauritania are initially expected to hold about 425 billion cubic meters of gas, five times the amount Germany was heavily dependent on gas in 2019. But production won’t start until early next year.
It will not help solve the energy crisis in Europe caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Still, BP executive Gordon Birrell, co-promoter of the project, said: “It couldn’t be more timely” Europe is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas for factories, power plants and home heating.
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Mauritania has accelerated the development of the country’s industrial structure as a further step in supporting plans to finance this important region as a third economic pillar after mineral and marine wealth. As the government has long focused on gas resources, future gains will help strengthen past-breaking economic reforms in the treatment of investment and production, aiming to move from self-sufficiency to the export phase. Mauritanians hope that the country’s wealth from gas will help improve living conditions and provide employment opportunities for young people as unemployment reaches 30% in Mauritania, a country of nearly four million people..
Industry experts believe that Mauritania will become the continent’s third largest gas exporter after Nigeria and Algeria once the development of the discovered gas reserves begins.
