Hydropower

Mali: official inauguration of the 140 MW Gouina hydropower plant

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Mali, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal celebrated over the weekend the inauguration of the 140 MW Gouina hydropower plant, whose units were commissioned earlier this year.

The facility was built as part of a multi-project plan involving the construction of several hydroelectric stations along the Senegal River, where the hydroelectric potential is estimated at 1,200 MW. The project is owned and managed by the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS), which received a loan of $ 110 million from the International Development Association of the World Bank several years ago for this integrated management programme for the region’s water resources.

The Gouina plant is the third hydropower project of this type to be commissioned by the OMVS after the 205 MW Manantali plant in 2002 and the 60 MW Félou plant in 2013.

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Perenco makes new oil find offshore Congo

Perenco has confirmed a new oil discovery within the Tchibeli North East pre-salt Vandji exploration prospect on its PNGF Sud shallow water permit in Congo-Brazzaville. “Good oil and gas shows were recorded on entry into the reservoir and a 75m oil column was interpreted on logs. A test of these zones produced at 2,000 bopd, followed by other analysis necessary to help confirm volumes,” the operator said. The company believes the new discovery could be a play opener in the pre-salt Congo, and holds a number of additional Vandji leads it could drill on the block. The block was a large shallow water permit initially awarded to Elf (now TotalEnergies) in the 1960s, which started producing in 1987. It was taken over by a partnership led by independent Perenco in January 2017 along with Hemla E&P Congo Continent Congo, Africa Oil & Gas Corporation and Petro Congo. PNGF Sud remains a mature oil asset holding significant remaining potential, with significant infrastructure in place. Nine steel jackets are currently installed and act as drilling or processing centers, supporting 67 producing wells across five fields in 2022: Tchibouela, Tchendo, Tchibeli, Litanzi and Tchibouela East. The partnership is currently executing several brownfield projects on the block to boost production, with up to six wells scheduled for 2023. Full details on the development of PNGF Sud are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

AMEA Power to expand Togo’s flagship solar PV plant

AMEA Power has secured $25m in debt from the Abu Dhabi Exports Office to expand Togo’s Blitta solar PV facility. The 50 MW project, known as the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Solar Power Plant, was commissioned in June 2021 and is currently able to supply power to almost 160,000 Togolese households. Its expansion phase will add another 20 MW of solar power generation capacity and see the installation of a 4 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to enable the supply of clean power at night. Upon completion, the 70 MW plant will be West Africa’s biggest solar PV station.