Page 6 - GLNG Week 15 2021

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Mauritania tasks Meen/EPCM consortium

with developing gas master plan

POLICY MAURITANIA’S Ministry of Petroleum, Mines country optimise the exploration and monetisa-
and Energy has tasked a consortium formed by tion of gas from fields shared with Senegal such as
a local firm and its South African partner with Grand Tortue/Ahmeyim (GTA), which is being
developing a master plan for the development of developed by BP (UK) and Kosmos Energy (US).
the country’s natural gas resources. Additionally, it will include local-content pro-
The ministry announced its decision earlier visions targeting the entire energy value chain
this month, saying it had awarded the project to – the upstream, midstream and downstream
The master plan is Meen & Meen, a Mauritanian oil and gas engi- sectors, as well as electric power, petrochemicals
expected to help neering and consulting firm, and EPCM Holdings, and related projects.
Mauritania optimise a South African engineering project and product The Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and
the exploration and developer. It did not disclose the value of the deal Energy began searching for a contractor to draw
monetisation of gas or say when it hoped to finalise the contract. up the gas master plan in 2019, following the
from fields shared with However, it did say that the choice of the discovery of 15 trillion cubic feet (425bn cubic
Senegal. Meen/EPCM consortium would “[reinforce] metres) of gas in recoverable reserves at GTA.
the collaborative nature of the relationship Fourteen companies and consortia submitted
between Mauritania and South Africa.” The deal bids for the project, and the ministry shortlisted
also highlights the success of efforts to encourage seven of them.
business deals between companies based in the BP and Kosmos Energy are hoping to launch
global South. production at GTA at an initial rate of 70mn
According to the ministry, the master plan cubic feet (1.98mn cubic metres) per day in 2023.
will serve as a comprehensive strategy for the The cost of the project, which will also involve
exploration, extraction and development of the production of 10mn tonnes per year (tpy) of
Mauritania’s offshore gas fields. It will help the LNG, is expected to reach $4.8bn.™

NSML says Nigeria should establish dry-

docking facilities for NLNG tankers

PIPELINES & NLNG Ship Management Ltd (NSML), which commercial ships cannot retain their safety
TRANSPORT provides marine transport management ser- classification or insurance cover unless they
vices for the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) consortium, undergo dry-docking at least once every three
has cast a spotlight on Nigeria’s lack of domestic years, he noted. At current international rates,
dry-docking capacity. the cost of dry-docking services typically
Abdul-Kadir Ahmed, the managing director amounts to $300,000-500,000, he said. (This
of NSML, noted earlier this week that none of is equivalent to $3.6-5.0mn for NSML’s entire
the country’s dry-docking facilities were cur- tanker fleet.)
rently capable of servicing his company’s fleet, Ahmed said he would prefer to pay dry-dock-
which consists of 11 LNG tankers and one LPG ing fees to Nigerian providers, as this would
tanker. NSML would prefer to use Nigerian ship- generate a significant amount of revenue for
yards for dry-docking services, but has had no the country. NSML is aiming to establish its
choice but to use foreign shipyards instead, he dry-docking facility in order to keep the money
was quoted as saying by the Sun. closer to home, but so far its efforts have fallen
“I don’t want to sound critical but realistic. flat, he added.
There is currently no facility in Nigeria that can “As part of our Bonny Gas Transport (BGT)
handle any of our LNG vessels,” he commented. Plus Project, there was a scheme to bring in Sam-
“I am not saying there are no dry-docking facili- sung and Hyundai [of South Korea] together
ties in Nigeria. But if you understand the nature with some Nigerian investors to establish a
and size of an LNG vessel, then we will all know dry-docking facility in Nigeria,” he explained.
that there is nowhere in Nigeria that such vessels “Unfortunately, the scheme has not fully taken
can be dry-docked as at today.” off, but we are still optimistic. We hope that when
According to standards set by the Inter- it fully takes off, it will commence effectively at
national Maritime Organisation (IMO), the right standard.”™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 15 16•April•2021