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EPC contract signed for Ethiopia’s first IPP

The EPC contract for Phase 1 of the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project was signed in Addis Ababa on March 30th with Mitsubishi Corp. and SEPCOIII. Picture: TMGO.

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The EPC contract for the Phase 1 (50 MW) of the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project in Oromia, Ethiopia, was signed yesterday with the consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation and SEPCOIII Electric Power construction Co. Construction is expected to start in September this year for a commissioning by December 2024.

The project is led by Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Plc (TMGO), a joint-venture between Meridiam (51%) and Reykjavik Geothermal (49%).

The facility will be Ethiopia’s first Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, and a pathfinder for future geothermal developments in the country. It is expected to be set up on one of the best geothermal fields in the world, with an estimated capacity of over 1 GW.

Drilling for phase 1 started in March 2020 but was suspended for several months due to travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Drilling activities were able to resume only in mid-June 2020 and the first well, GA-1, was completed in Q1 of 2021. GA-2 and GA-3 were eventually drilled in 2021, followed by GB-1 were drilling is still ongoing.

Under a contract signed in 2019, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is the one in charge of drilling 10 geothermal wells and 2 injection wells to accomplish the first phase of 50MW within the next two years.

Full details on the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

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Mozambique inaugurates its largest solar PV plant yet

Last week, President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi of Mozambique inaugurated the 41 MWp Metoro solar PV plant, built in the northern Cabo Delgado province. The $56m facility is owned by French IPP Neoen (75%) and state utility EDM (25%) and was built by Portuguese contractor Efacec. It was financed by a $40m debt package provided by the French Development Agency and its subsidiary Proparco. It is Mozambique’s largest solar plant and notably follows the inauguration of Scatec Solar’s 40 MW Mocuba solar plant in the Zambézia Province in 2019. Central Solar Metoro’s 121,500 PV modules are able to generate up to 69 GWh a year for the Mozambican grid, ensuring the consumption of some 140,000 people.

NOCs dominate list of bidders under Mozambique’s 6th Licensing Round

Following the completion of the pre-qualification process for Mozambique’s 6th Licensing Round, a total of 13 companies have submitted documents. Interested bidders mostly include national oil companies, including CNOOC, Sinopec International, and PetroChina International (CNPC) of China, ONGC Videsh of India, Rosneft (RN Angoche) of Russia and QatarEnergy. The IOCs that already have blocks in the country, including Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, are also participating. The rest of the bidders include South Africa’s Sasol who already produces gas from the onshore Temane and Pande fields; Russia’s gas independent Novatek; Nigerian independent Aiteo E&P; and Discover Exploration, who operates Licenses 35, 36 and 37 in the Comoros just outboard of Mozambique’s offshore Rovuma Areas 1 and 4. Under the 6th Licensing Round, companies are able to apply for Exploration and Production Concession Contracts (EPCC) after studying data licensed by the INP under standard Master Licensing Agreements (MLA). Most work commitment programmes include a first sub-period with seismic acquisition and a minimum spending of $5m. Drilling commitments must be made only when entering the second sub-period. To support bidders, the INP has made available 2D and 3D seismic datasets for Multi-Client licensing. These surveys cover both onshore and offshore areas and consist of 22,715 sq. km of 3D seismic, 41,905 km of offshore 2D seismic and 18,735 km of onshore 2D seismic.