Page 6 - GLNG Week 41 2021

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG

Malabo’s big dreams

for Mega Gas Hub

Equatorial Guinea could become a major hub for

regional gas trade – if its plans come together

PROJECTS & THE government of Equatorial Guinea recently
COMPANIES began talking up its plans for the creation of a
Mega Gas Hub (MGH) at Punta Europa, saying
WHAT: that it was ready to lead the way toward the estab-
Equatoguinean lishment of new facilities serving local natural
authorities are talking up gas fields, as well as fields controlled by neigh-
the MGH project, which is bouring states.
designed to support gas In late September, for example, Equatogu-
production at local fields inean Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons
and in neighbouring Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima drew attention to
countries’ offshore zones. the project. He noted that Malabo had already
initiated the first phase of MGH and said it was
WHY: now looking to generate momentum for the
Initially the plan will second phase, which is designed to make Punta
focus on stabilising Europa a regional hub capable of facilitating
domestic gas production. the production and export of gas from multi-
ple countries with offshore fields in the Gulf of
WHAT NEXT: Guinea.
Plans to handle foreign Lima’s statements indicate that Equatorial
gas will face steep Guinea is aiming high and working to diversify
hurdles. and grow its economy by prioritising regional
trade and making preparations for the time
when its own crude oil and natural gas resources year that it had begun work on the Alen pro-
run out. And that day certainly is coming; the ject. At the time, it said in a press release that
country’s oil production peaked in 2004, while it expected the scheme to help “[maximise]
gas yields began sinking about three years ago development of current and future regional gas
and are likely to continue trending downwards. resources” in Equatorial Guinea.
But ambition isn’t everything. Equatorial At the time, the US super-major’s optimism
Guinea’s MGH plan has two phases, and it seemed warranted. After all, first-phase plans
remains to be seen whether the first phase will for MGH also called for stepping up develop-
succeed or not. ment work at other Equatoguinean offshore gas
fields in order to help sustain production rates
Mega Gas Hub (MGH) and keep the EG LNG gas liquefaction plant and
Officials in Malabo presented plans for MGH to the gas-based petrochemical plants in Punta
the world in 2018 and then followed by striking a Europa running at capacity.
deal on the first phase of the project the following
year. Falling production
That deal provided for US-based Noble It’s not clear, though, that this objective will be
Energy, which is now under the control of Chev- met.
ron, to proceed with the Alen gas monetisation David Thomson, the vice president of
project. It called for Noble to shift the focus of sub-Saharan Africa research at Houston-based
upstream development work at the Alen field in Welligence Energy Analytics, told NewsBase
the Douala basin from gas condensate to natu- earlier this week that he did not expect Equa-
ral gas – that is, to shift from flaring off natural torial Guinea’s gas production to rise in the
gas or re-injecting it to help maintain reservoir near future. The country is currently extracting
pressure in condensate deposits to collecting gas around 650-700mn cubic feet (18.4-19.8mn
in order to sell it. cubic metres) per day, he noted, and its yields
Chevron then announced in February of this are likely to drop over the next few years, just

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 15•October•2021