Egyptian companies have struck deals to carry out work in Equatorial Guinea, according to recent high-level talks.
Egypt Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla hosted his Equatorial Guinea counterpart, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, yesterday. A statement from Egypt said the discussions focused on the trend of its increasing co-operation with African states.
El Molla said Egypt was ready to help on a number of fronts. The country could help convert cars to run on CNG and training, in addition to developing gas infrastructure.
The two ministers also talked about how to move Petrojet’s plans forward in constructing the new refinery. The company was shortlisted in March 2020 for a modular refinery at Kogo South, in Bata.
The Egyptian statement said an economic feasibility study was under way. This should provide all the details needed to move the project ahead, El Molla said.
Other companies shortlisted for the refinery work were the UK’s Rosslyn Energy, a Spanish-Russian group of Selquimica International with Engineering and Energy and United Arab Emirates’ SDLE International.
Gas plans
Obiang Lima expressed interest in gas transportation through specialised tankers. Commenting on Petrojet, the minister said he planned to finalise agreements in order to reach a final decision.
The minister from Equatorial Guinea also signed two agreements with Taqa’s Egyptian arm on the development of LNG and CNG projects in the West African state.
TAQA Arabia, our new strategic alliance partner to comercialize CNG, LNG and Gas utilization units in Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 "Gas is good for Africa" pic.twitter.com/UMSGIG15CQ
— Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima (@GabrielObiang) June 9, 2022
Taqa has delivered five CNG vehicles to Equatorial Guinea, it said in May.
Egypt is preparing to hold COP27 in November. The two ministers discussed the importance of transforming the African energy sector, although Obiang Lima made the case for continued investments into oil and gas during the transition.
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) highlighted Equatorial Guinea’s potential role in exporting gas. The country is working on a gas mega hub plan, which will see it become regionally significant. This involves the development of its domestic resources, such as Alen, in addition to cross-border deals with Cameroon, Nigeria and Congo Brazzaville.
Equatorial Guinea will liquefy gas for export, the AEC said. The country exported 3.2 million tonnes of LNG in 2021. Over half of these went to Asia.