Page 7 - GLNG Week 27 2021

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Rwanda’s energy sector, for extracting meth- or charcoal. He has also said he expects that
ane from Lake Kivu. The company said earlier “approximately half” of the company’s future
this year that it might be able to start produc- production will be used as cooking fuel.
ing methane quickly enough to begin turning Rwandan authorities have been encourag-
out CNG by the end of 2022. Under a $400mn ing local consumers to treat CNG and LPG as
concession agreement signed with the Rwandan cooking fuel instead of solid fuels such as char-
government in 2019, Gasmeth has the right to coal and firewood, which are more polluting and
extract up to 40mn cubic feet (1.13mn cubic more dangerous. Officials in Kigali believe that
metres) per day of methane from Lake Kivu and Gasmeth’s CNG could allow 300,000-400,000
to build onshore gas-processing and compres- households to phase out the use of charcoal and
sion facilities to produce CNG. firewood. However, they have also highlighted
Stephen Tierney, Gasmeth’s CEO, has other possibilities, such as using CNG as a sub-
asserted that CNG production will give Rwan- stitute for gasoline or diesel fuel or burning it in
dans access to a fuel that is better than firewood generators for industrial use.™

Slight delay for first gas from GTA

PROJECTS & BP (UK) has pushed the target date for starting close the FPSO sale and lease-back transaction
COMPANIES production at Grand Tortue/Ahmeyim, an off- before the end of September 2021 and will then
shore natural gas-bearing block that straddles focus on efforts to refinance the loans that the
the maritime border between Mauritania and national oil companies (NOCs) of Senegal and
Senegal, back to the third quarter of 2023. Mauritania took out to finance their share of pro-
US-based Kosmos Energy, a non-operating ject costs. Additionally, they are working to draw
partner in the project, announced the delay ear- up plans for the second phase of the project and
lier this week. In a statement, it said that BP had hope to make a final investment decision (FID)
changed the schedule in line with information in late 2022, as previously announced.
from TechnipFMC, the international oilfield “In Mauritania and Senegal, the Grand Tor-
services provider that is serving as the engineer- tue/Ahmeyim project continued to make steady
ing, procurement, construction, installation and progress during the quarter, with key mile-
commissioning (EPCIC) contractor at GTA. stones achieved across all major workstreams,”
TechnipFMC explained the need for delay commented Andrew G Inglis, the chairman
by pointing out that the Chinese shipyard that and CEO of Kosmos. “However, we are seeing
is building a floating production, storage and cost inflation and supplier delays in the current
off-loading (FPSO) vessel for installation at the environment together with some scope growth,
block had fallen behind schedule, Kosmos said. and as a result, we are updating our estimates,
The shipyard, which is owned by a division of with first gas now expected in the third quarter
China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO), is report- of 2023.”
edly experiencing labour shortages because of GTA is an ultra-deepwater block that lies
the uptick in economic activity that has followed athwart the maritime border between Maurita-
the ebbing of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- nia and Senegal. It was discovered by US-based
demic. As a result, it will not be able to deliver the Kosmos Energy in 2015 and is believed to hold
FPSO by the previously agreed deadline, and BP some 15 trillion cubic feet (425bn cubic metres)
and Kosmos will have to wait to start production. of natural gas. BP joined the project in 2016,
These developments are not expected to and the two companies made a final investment
cause major delays. GTA should begin yielding decision (FID) on first-phase production in late
gas only about three months later than antici- 2018.
pated, Kosmos said. The partners intend to use gas from the
The company also noted, though, that the licence area to support an LNG project. To this
change of schedule would cause the cost of the end, they have contracted Bermuda-registered
project to rise. The budget for the first phase of Golar LNG to convert the Gimi LNG tanker into
work at the block is on track to go up by $100mn, a floating LNG (FLNG) plant with a production
it stated. capacity of 2.5mn tonnes per year (tpy). The
In the meantime, BP and Kosmos are mak- FLNG unit will process gas delivered via pipeline
ing progress in other areas. They are on track to from the FPSO.™

Week 27 09•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7