A workshop organized by the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy in Nouakchott revealed the latest numbers of oil and gas reserves in Mauritania.
The workshop aimed to present the results of the “promotion and communication” strategy that supports the development of oil and gas projects in Mauritania, according to data seen by the specialized energy platform.
The communication strategy – prepared by a consortium of study offices consisting of Beyond, Betacom and EN-VR – aims to keep pace with and support the country’s strategic energy vision, in order to better explain it and mobilize partners, investors and decision-makers on a broader and stronger scale.
Mauritania reserves of oil and gas
The workshop reviewed the latest data on oil and gas reserves in Mauritania, which has estimated reserves of 400 million barrels of oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of gas.
It is noteworthy that Mauritania’s oil reserves amounted – according to previous estimates – to about 20 million barrels by the end of 2020, after reaching its peak in 2007 at 100 million barrels, according to the Global Economy website.
The Secretary-General of the Mauritanian Ministry of Petroleum, Ahmed Salem Bouhad, said that the workshop aims to provide a comprehensive presentation of the stages of implementing the mission carried out by the consultants in order to prepare and develop a new communication strategy for the ministry.
Mauritania aims to develop the oil and gas sector in order to secure the country’s energy needs, and to enter the list of exporting countries, relying on the huge reserves it possesses.
Despite the suspension of oil extraction operations in Mauritania at the end of 2017, Nouakchott is preparing to compete in the list of countries producing natural gas during the current year (2023), with the start of exploration and exploration of oil in a number of coastal squares.
Strategy objectives
The new strategy of the Ministry of Petroleum aims to enhance Mauritania’s ambition to be one of the main countries in the field of energy transition, enhance the attractiveness of the country and attract investors, build an allied strategy, ensure digital listening, manage misinformation, and communicate well in crises if necessary.
The workshop culminates in the course of developing the communication strategy, in which parliamentarians, representatives of civil society organizations, relevant government departments, the media, the press, and senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy participated.
The development of the strategy comes at a time when Mauritania is implementing huge gas and energy projects to support its development and improve the living conditions of citizens.
The Secretary-General of the Mauritanian Ministry of Petroleum stressed that the workshop comes within the framework of President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Al-Ghazwani’s commitments, which aims to value and develop the country’s resources of gas, minerals and energy.
And the Director General of the Hydrocarbons Sector in the Ministry, Mustafa Al-Bashir, gave a presentation on the extent of the development of the work of the turtle field, Hmeim Al-Kabir, which is shared with Senegal.
About two weeks ago, the floating platform for production, storage and offloading of the large turtle Ahmeim LNG project, which is being implemented by the British oil company BP, was launched to the project site 40 kilometers from the common coasts of Mauritania and Senegal.
The ship began its journey on January 20, 2023 from Qidong, China. Its construction and installation took 3 and a half years, and it underwent more than 330,000 technical examinations, which resulted in the readiness of all its components to work.
The first phase of the project is scheduled to produce more than 2.3 million tons of LNG annually, and its resources are estimated to be sufficient to support production for more than 20 years.
The ship will rest at a depth of 120 meters of water and will carry 140 people on board during normal operation. It is the size of two football fields and consists of 10 floors. Production is expected to start in the large turtle field, Ahmeem, at the end of this year.
green hydrogen
The Director General highlighted that Mauritania has signed several memorandums of understanding to develop projects for the exploitation of solar energy and wind energy in the field of green hydrogen production.
Green hydrogen in Mauritania attracts major companies looking to invest in clean energy projects, especially in countries that have the potential to make such projects a success.
Mauritania has developed a hydrogen development roadmap, aiming to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, and a 50% renewable energy mix.
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