Africa a strong contender in gas supply sector

As global energy demand continues to rise, gas remains one of the sector’s strongest contenders, and African projects are increasingly shaping future supply. In Egypt, the Raven field, located approximately 65km offshore in the Mediterranean Sea, commenced production from its second development phase in February this year, marking yet another project delivered ahead of schedule. Raven is the third and final phase of bp’s West Nile Delta development and remains the only oil and gas facility in Egypt operated by an international company. The wells are expected to produce around 220 billion cubic feet of gas and seven million barrels of condensate, helping meet Egypt’s growing energy needs. Further west, the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project – located offshore where Mauritania and Senegal meet – also announced first gas production this year. According to bp, the first LNG cargo from the two countries represents a significant new contribution to global energy markets. GTA is expected to produce roughly 2.4 million tonnes of LNG per year. In addition to exports, dedicated gas volumes will be made available to both Mauritania and Senegal’s domestic markets as soon as local infrastructure is ready to receive them. One of Africa’s deepest offshore developments, GTA’s subsea system, sits nearly three kilometres below sea level in water depths of up to 2 850 metres. The project is effectively four major developments in one – a true mega project – with each component representing its own engineering milestone. At the centre of the operation is a massive floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel standing the height of a 10-storey building and stretching the length of two football fields. It is designed to process more than 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, removing water, condensate and impurities before export. In Nigeria, the NLNG Train 7 expansion is set to boost capacity by a further eight million tonnes per year, reinforcing the country’s position as Africa’s largest LNG exporter. It will see Nigeria increase production from its current 22 million to 30m tonnes per annum by 2027. The project includes one complete LNG train and one combined liquefaction unit. LV