2023-11-28 23:15:03
The major MSGBC forum on energies between the countries of the West African basin lasted two days in the Mauritanian capital, Tuesday November 21 and Wednesday November 22, 2023. The opportunity for Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and even Guinea to think together about common means and strategies to develop energies in the sub-region: hydrocarbons and renewable energies. Mauritania took the opportunity to highlight its assets.
Objective for Mauritania during this forum: position itself as a true energy hub in the region to attract investors. To do this, it highlights its resources – whether fossil or renewable -, its geographical and strategic position, its stability, but also its major projects in progress.
Among them, the GTA, the largest gas extraction project in the region, carried out jointly with Senegal, which should come to fruition in 2024, according to the government, or its green hydrogen program.
Abundant natural resources
Thoughtful initiatives with a view to just transition, according to Mamadou Khane, advisor to the Minister of Oil, Mines and Energy: “ Mauritania has enormous potential, we have a lot of gas. Gas is a transitional energy source. We are decarbonizing and gradually, it will allow greater and greater penetration of renewable energies. The potential for renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, is one of the best in the world. We have a lot of water and we have a lot of mines. But as usual, the money is missing. Much effort has been made in recent years to put in place a reassuring framework for investors. »
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The opportunity also, according to Abdel Boudadya, general manager of a Mauritanian company, involved in the gas extraction project (GTA), to show investors that they can trust local operators: “ Our objective is to show other investors that we have succeeded in projects in the GTA field, they saw that it was concrete. Also, that there are local partners who are capable of carrying them out. The big obstacle is above all the level of qualification which still remains a challenge, but we have overcome this challenge through training, even if much more effort is still needed from stakeholders to invest more in Training. »
Create a legal framework for investors
According to Transparency International’s corruption perception index, Mauritania ranks 130th out of 180 countries… Although obstacles to investment still remain, the authorities are making efforts, in particular by strengthening the legal and regulatory framework. This is what Amadou Gaye, general manager of a Senegalese oil and gas logistics company which has just settled in the country, assures: “ We also have a certain number of exemptions, the commitment of the authorities who announced the reform of the country’s oil code, the law on local content which will aim to better organize the sector, these are public policies which allow actors to be able to evolve within a regulated legal framework. It is a country that needs investment in the logistics sector. »
Objective by 2030 for Mauritania: realize its current projects, gradually decarbonize its energies and improve the country’s electrification rate.
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