Gas to Power Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

NFE Signs MoU With Mauritania for Fast LNG and Gas-to-Power Project

The MoU was signed virtually by Petroleum Minister Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh in December 2021.

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Earlier this week, New Fortress Energy executed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Republic of Mauritania for the development of the offshore Banda gas reserves into a new energy hub.

The project could be commissioned as early as 2024 and would entail the production of natural gas, power, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and blue ammonia for the domestic and export markets.

The Banda gas field was discovered by Woodside Energy back in 2002 but was never developed. Reserves are located 60km offshore Nouakchott and are estimated at 1.2 Tcf. Until recently, Tullow Oil was the operating partner of the Banda and Tiof fields, and an equity partner in the Chinguetti oil field were production ceased at the end of 2017.

Tullow Oil is currently decommissioning the Chinguetti field and is fully abandoning the Banda and Tiof fields, where five wells and two side-tracks were drilled.

Under the MoU signed with the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy this week, New Fortress Energy will deploy its Fast LNG liquefaction technology to produce LNG for Mauritania’s domestic gas and power markets and for exports.

Natural gas will notably be supplied to the existing 180 MW Nouakchott Nord thermal power plant owned by state-utility Somelec, along with a new 120 MW gas-to-power plant. Nouakchott Nord was commissioned in 2015 and relies on 12 turbines with a capacity of 15 MW each, able to run on heavy fuel oil or natural gas. By developing the Banda gas reserves, Mauritania expects to switch its biggest power plant to cleaner fuels while expanding its power generation infrastructure.

“The memorandum paves the way for the launch of the necessary technical and commercial feasibility studies for the development of the field and the construction of the new power plant, as well as commercial negotiations to reach the project’s contractual framework, including the power purchase agreement,” said the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy on its website.

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The Gambia: “no moveable oil” at Bambo-1 despite oil shows

Australian independent FAR has announced that its Bambo-1X exploratory well offshore The Gambia did not interpret any moveable oil despite encountering good oil shows. The well was drilled to a total depth of 3317 metres MDBRT within Block A2 just south of Senegal’s Sangomar oil field. FAR is operator of the A2 license with a 50% interest. Drilling consisted in the Bambo-1 well, which was plugged and followed by the Bambo-1ST1 well. The well targeted three key prospects: Soloo, Bambo and Soloo Deep with resources estimated at a maximum of 1.118 billion barrels and chances of success ranging between 7% to 37%. “The drilling and logging data obtained on the main well and the side-track well indicates that several target intervals in the well had oil shows, confirming a prolific oil source is present in the area,” FAR said.   While results are encouraging for future exploration campaigns, they remain a disappointment for FAR’s short-term prospects. The company went into default in early 2021, forcing it to sell its entire 15% interest in the Sangomar offshore oil project (RSSD joint-venture) in Senegal to Woodside Energy. A successful discovery at Bambo would have allowed FAR to enter development stage and continue to be part of the MSGBC Basin’s ongoing success story. Details on the exploration of the A2 and A5 Blocks offshore The Gambia are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

DP World and the Democratic Republic of the Congo sign final agreement to develop Banana Port

On Monday this week, DP World and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have signed the Collaboration Agreement for the development of the Banana deep-sea port. The agreement was signed in the presence of President Tshisekedi and follows the sgning of a term sheet earlier this year with DP World. The project has been in the making since 2018 when the initial contract was signed. The Collaboration Agreement signed this week paves the way for a groundbreaking on the project within a year. “DP World will develop an initial 600-meter quay with an 18m draft, capable of handling the largest vessels in operation. It will have a container handling capacity of about 450 000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) per year, and a 30-hectare yard to store containers,” DP World said.