(Bloomberg) -- Mauritania will prioritize using gas from BP Plc’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim development as it looks to increase access to electricity while it adds more renewable energy.
The nation will use the fuel from the oil major’s offshore liquefied natural gas project — located on the maritime border with Senegal — to feed a planned 230-megawatt power plant, Oil and Energy Minister Mohamed Khaled said in an interview in Nouakchott, the capital.
The West African country is building more renewable capacity but, “we see gas as a major component for our energy transition,” Khaled said. “Maybe in the future, in the next 20 or 30 years, we will move completely to renewables, but we see gas as a transition energy.”
Another power plant that would connect to the Banda LNG project is also expected, with the time-line contingent on the completion of the developments.
Mauritania is among several African countries that aim to use gas from new projects led by oil companies, typically focused on LNG exports, to industrialize their economies. Growing electricity generation capacity will also help to improve energy access that lags across the continent.
Just over half of Mauritanians have electricity connections, with access for 93% in urban areas, but 10% in less populated regions of the country, Khaled said. “We’re looking at mini-grids, solar or hybrid, for these areas.”
Mauritania exceeded a renewable energy target of 20% of total generation by 2020 and use of the technologies is poised to grow, according to BNEF research. The African Development Bank in January signed agreements with the government for about $290 million in financing for solar power generation, a transmission connection to Mali, and rural electrification.
About half of Mauritania’s energy mix is made up of clean energy, Khaled said. “Our energy mix is among the best in Africa.”
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