The African Energy Chamber (AEC) announced that the upcoming African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 interactive conference and networking event taking place in Cape Town will host an exhibition and pavilion from Equatorial Guinea. Focused on showcasing the range of investment opportunities across a myriad of sectors in Equatorial Guinea – including, natural gas and green development – the pavilion will offer an in-depth view and comprehensive outline of the country’s energy activities in a bid to drive investment and development.
Equatorial Guinea holds some of Africa’s most significant natural gas reserves – estimated at 1.5 trillion cubic feet – and has therefore directed development towards associated projects in a bid to address energy security challenges and establish the country as a regional natural gas hub. Representing one of the most lucrative markets for upstream and midstream natural gas exploration and production, Equatorial Guinea has made significant progress in expanding its gas sector. Through the establishment of several inter-connected gas initiatives intended to accelerate offshore gas developments and enable increased intra-African gas trade, Equatorial Guinea is well on its way to establish a world-class gas industry and regional mega hub.
Notably, the country’s Gas Mega Hub – a comprehensive gas plan that oversees the development of several offshore gas hubs and the monetisation of neighbouring gas reserves – aims to drive investment in undeveloped offshore gas resources. By leveraging existing infrastructure, Equatorial Guinea is focused on unlocking the monetisation potential of both domestic and regional discovered resources. The first phase of the initiative involves the development of the Alen Gas Monetisation project. Led by Chevron’s Noble Energy Limited, the 70km, 950 million cubic feet pipeline links the Alen gas field in the Douala Basin offshore Equatorial Guinea to existing onshore processing facilities – including Alba Plant’s Liquified Petroleum Gas processing plant and Equatorial Guinea’s Liquified Natural Gas production facility. With Chevron announcing first gas flow from the project in March 2021, Equatorial Guinea is set to achieve sectoral success.
“Equatorial Guinea is rapidly becoming an African leader in gas monetisation and utilisation. By integrating domestic infrastructure with both regional and offshore gas fields, overseen by a comprehensive gas plan, the country is creating a gas empire, enabling increased energy security and revenue, as well as addressing regional energy poverty,” stated NJ Ayuk, executive chairman, the AEC.
Additionally, Equatorial Guinea has turned its attention to green development, reaffirming its commitment to the fight against climate change and the safeguarding of the environment. Through accelerated green developments, backed by an ecological model focused on better forestry management, Equatorial Guinea is ensuring that country-wide energy developments not only comply with, but promote green development through an alternative energy supply. With approximately 58% of Equatorial Guinea being forested, the country is opting for preservation and protection in a bid to mitigate increasing deforestation. By increasing natural gas developments and utilisation, Equatorial Guinea is ensuring the provision of a reliable and consistent energy supply, therefore, reducing the need for alternative fuel sources in the form of firewood.
Meanwhile, the country remains committed to increasing domestic oil capacity and exports. With the development of its 10,000 barrels per day modular crude oil refinery located in Punta Europa, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea is accelerating production in the face of declining reserves. The project is still set to achieve its Final Investment Decision and is expected to cost between $55mn and $76mn.
“Equatorial Guinea has a range of optimal investment opportunities covering a variety of sectors. The country’s exhibition and pavilion at AEW 2021 will not only showcase these opportunities to both African and global stakeholders, but will emphasise the potential of natural gas to facilitate an energy transition and address increasing environmental challenges such as deforestation. Equatorial Guinea both serves as an example for other African countries looking to expand their natural gas sectors and for the international community unconvinced of the value of natural gas in Africa,” continued Ayuk.
In line with AEW 2021’s African Energy Village concept, and spearheaded by the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons (MMH), the pavilion will provide potential investors with a broad understanding of the Equatorial Guinean energy market, showcasing competitive projects – such as the Gas Mega Project and Punta Europa Refinery – and potential opportunities across multiple sectors. AEW 2021’s interactive networking concept enables platforms such as Equatorial Guinea’s pavilion to not only showcase their achievements, but emphasise key discussion points regarding Africa’s energy future. Accordingly, AEW 2021 represents the ideal platform whereby emerging markets and regional energy leaders can present a range of investment opportunities to international financiers, driving investment and growth across the African energy sector.
