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The FPSO vessel is currently being moored at the site 40km offshore in a water depth of 120m. (Image source: bp)

The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, a key component of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase 1 LNG development, has arrived at its final location offshore on the maritime border of Mauritania and Senegal

The FPSO vessel is currently being moored at the site 40km offshore in a water depth of 120m. It will be operated by bp, on behalf of the project’s partners: bp, Kosmos Energy, PETROSEN and SMH. The project will produce gas from reservoirs in deep water, approximately 120km offshore, through a subsea system.

Following completion of its construction at the COSCO Qidong Shipyard, China, the FPSO has travelled more than 12,000 nautical miles to the GTA site.

“bp is investing in today’s energy system - and tomorrow’s too, and GTA Phase 1 represents this investment in action,” said Dave Campbell, bp’s senior vice president, Mauritania and Senegal.

“And this is a huge landmark step for the project, an innovative LNG development that is leading the way in unlocking gas resources for Mauritania and Senegal. The FPSO vessel has travelled halfway around the globe and its safe arrival and installation is testament to the resilience, skills, teamwork and huge effort of all the partners involved. We are now entirely focused on safe completion of the project as we continue to work towards first gas.”

The GTA Phase 1 development is expected to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG annually for more than 20 years. It is the first gas development in this new basin offshore Mauritania and Senegal. With wells located in water depths of up to 2,850m, the GTA Phase 1 development has the deepest subsea infrastructure in Africa. The multibillion-dollar investment has been granted the status of National Project of Strategic Importance by the Presidents of both Mauritania and Senegal.

The FPSO will have up to 140 people on board during normal operation. With an area equivalent to two football fields and 10-storeys in height, the FPSO is made of more than 81,000 tonnes of steel, 37,000m of pipe spools and 1.52 million meters of cable.

The FPSO is expected to process over 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. It will remove water, condensate and impurities from the gas before transferring it via pipeline to the Floating Liquified Natural Gas (FLNG) vessel at the Hub Terminal approximately 10km offshore. At the FLNG vessel, the gas will be cryogenically cooled, liquefied and stored before being transferred to LNG carriers for export, while some is allocated to help meet growing demand in the two host countries.

Fluenta's mission to help operators comply with environmental regulations is complemented by SEGITEC's expertise in providing value-added services. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Innovations provider Fluenta has partnered with control and instrumentation solutions integrator SEGITEC to introduce its ultrasonic sensing technology for flare gas control to operators from North Africa

With a well-established presence in the North African market, the deal makes SEGITEC the region's official distributor of Fluenta's services. Fluenta's advanced flare management services have been installed in Nigeria's Dangote Refinery as well

"We are excited to partner with Fluenta, a company that shares our vision for a sustainable future," said Omar Ben Ayed, SEGITEC's CEO. "This partnership is a significant milestone, as it allows us to offer energy companies in North Africa and Gabon the best-in-class solutions to meet tightening environmental standards. Together, we are committed to empowering the region's oil, gas, and petrochemical industries to achieve their environmental goals while maintaining operational excellence."

Supporting operators

In line with the Paris Agreement, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and minimising environmental impact are top priorities for petrochemical and oil and gas companies, and flare management forms a significant part of it. Majors such as BakerHughes and bp had introduced the flare.IQ technology earlier this year to monitor emissions from flares

Algeria has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 22% by 2030, Tunisia increased its ambition in the revised National Determined Contribution (NDC) by setting a conditional emissions reduction target of 45% below 2010 levels by 2030, and Gabon included a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. 

Fluenta's technology is capable of further complementing these goals with its real-time data configuration for prompt identification and action to block emmissions. It supports operators with regulatory compliance, operational optimisation, and safety. 

Julian Dudley-SmithFluenta managing director said, "Fluenta's mission to help operators comply with environmental regulations is complemented by SEGITEC's expertise in providing value-added services, which include project management, engineering, commissioning, operations, and maintenance. The partnership will support operators' decarbonisation plans, enhance environmental credentials, and ensure compliance with regulations and safety standards."

SEGITEC and Fluenta will be displaying at NAPEC 2024 from 14-16 October in Algeria.

The signing ceremony included the CEOs of Baker Hughes, SONATRACH and MAIRE, and the Minister of Energy and Mines. (Image source: Baker Hughes)

In an effort to boost production from Hassi R’Mel gas field 550 km south of Algiers, SONATRACH has signed a contract with Baker Hughes

The energy technology company will supply 20 compression trains based on Frame 5 gas turbine and BCL compressor technology will be installed across three gas boosting stations within the Hassi R’ Mel gas field. 

This comes as part of the Mattei Plan, a broader strategic collaboration across industries between Algeria and Italy. Italy has assured financial support for Algeria's gas production, which is the European nation's biggest single source of import. 

In 2023, Bloomberg NEF recognised Algeria as the second-largest gas supplier to Europe. The country has introduced multiple gas boosting stations to hold its title on the global energy market, while embracing natural gas as its prime energy source for socio-economic development. In June last year, TotalEnergies signed contract with SONATRACH to develop gas resources in the north-east Timimoun region. The oil major has also extended its LNG contract with SONATRACH till 2025 to access 2 mn tonnes of LNG for France and Europe.  

The largest gas field in Algeria, Hassi R’ Mel is equipped to not just meet domestic demands but also serves as key source of energy supply for Europe. At more than 20 trillion cu/m, shale gas is a lucrative investment opportunity for Algeria which falls under SONATRACH's long-term development plans as the company's vice president for planning and strategy, Rachid Zerdani noted last year

Baker Hughes responsibilities on Hassi R’ Mel will include boosting and stabilising the pressure of natural gas to increase production at site. Its facility in Italy will be the base for all project activity from compressor trains packaging and manufacturing to trains testing. This comes as a sub-contract of an order awarded to a consortium between Baker Hughes and technology and engineering group MAIRE-subsidiary Tecnimont

Reliable energy source for Europe

“We have long believed that it is critical to increase gas within the overall global energy mix to help achieve a lower-carbon economy. This project helps to solve for energy producers’ multi-faceted challenge of driving sustainable energy development as energy demand increases. We are proud to support such a critical energy project in partnership with Tecnimont,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes

“Today’s announcement marks a notable milestone in our historical collaboration with SONATRACH for key energy projects in Algeria that have played a crucial role in supplying reliable energy to Europe,” said Simonelli on the occasion of contract signing, which also included Rachid Hachichi, CEO, SONATRACH; Alessandro Bernini, CEO, MAIRE, and the Minister of Energy & Mines, Mohamed Arkab.

 

 

 

 

The concession's advance sustainability scopes are one of the prime reasons that locked the deal for ADNOC. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

In its first strategic investment in Mozambique, ADNOC has acquired 10% of Galp’s interest in the Area 4 concession of the Rovuma basin in Mozambique

The acquisition will allow ADNOC a share of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced from the concession.

With the operational Coral South Floating LNG (FLNG) facility, the planned Coral North FLNG development and the planned Rovuma LNG onshore facilities, the concession has a combined production capacity of more than 25 mn tonnes per annum. It is one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in 15 years. 

A one-of-a-kind facility in Africa, the Coral South development is currently in operation, with a production capacity of up to 3.5 mtpa of LNG. Once up and running, the Coral North development is capable of adding another 3.5 mtpa of LNG to that. It will have a FLNG facility to process and liquefy natural gas for export. 

The Coral south development is already yeilding vegetable oil to serve as feedstock in Eni's biorefineries

The modular, electric-drive design of the 18-mtpa Rovuma Onshore LNG development is capable of challenging industry standards when it comes to carbon intensity reduction from LNG production. 

The concession's advance sustainability scopes are one of the prime reasons that locked the deal for ADNOC, which aims to achieve a just transition-driven net zero by 2045. 

Integrated global gas business 

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC executive director for low carbon solutions and international growth, said, “For over fifty years, ADNOC has been a reliable and responsible global provider of LNG and we are building on this role with this landmark investment in the world-class Rovuma supergiant gas basin in Mozambique as we deliver on our international growth strategy. Natural gas plays an important role to meet growing global demand with lower emissions compared to other fossil fuels and this acquisition supports our efforts to build an integrated global gas business to ensure we continue providing a secure, reliable and responsible supply of natural gas.”

 

 

 

 

 

The facility will switch to natural gas operation when the natural gas pipeline will be commissioned. (Image source: Wärtsilä)

Technology group Wärtsilä has signed a 10-year Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Agreement for a captive power plant providing the energy for a Nigerian cement producing facility.

The new cement plant is owned by Mangal Industries and is located in Kogi State, Nigeria. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in Q2, 2024.

The power plant is critical to the facility’s cement production since the site is remotely located with limited access to the electricity grid. It operates with five Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines delivering an output of 50 MW. The O&M agreement is designed to ensure that the facility can reliably maintain its cement production target of three million metric tons per year.

“We are reliant on the power plant for our operations. This is why we have opted to take advantage of Wärtsilä’s depth of experience and know-how to run and maintain the power plant. Not only will the agreement provide the assured reliability we need, but it also gives us cost predictability,” said Fahad Mangal, Managing Director, Mangal Industries Limited.

The ten-year agreement starts immediately as the facility commences operations in Q2, 2024, running on liquid fuel initially. The facility will switch to natural gas operation when the natural gas pipeline will be commissioned. The power plant’s dual-fuel engines can be operated both on liquid fuel and natural gas and could be converted to operate with future low- or zero-carbon fuels when they become available.

“Wärtsilä now has more than 400 MW of installed capacity for the cement industry in Nigeria, and we are operating three captive power plants in three different states. This successful track record clearly indicates our capabilities and highlights the added value we can deliver to our customers through our experience and expertise in supporting their operations,” comments Patrick Borstner, Director, Operations Africa at Wärtsilä Energy.

Nigeria has an increasing demand for cement for its many infrastructure projects, and there has been a domestic supply gap. With this new plant, Mangal will partly address this issue.

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