In Mauritania, BP and the government announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to develop renewable hydrogen in the country.
An ambitious project
In Mauritania, BP is committed to assessing the technical and commercial feasibility of this project. This agreement is part of a series of partnerships between the two partners. For example, the Mauritanian Hydrocarbons Company (SMH) has been working on Greater Tortue Ahmeyim since 2018.
The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim liquefied natural gas project is located on the border between Mauritania and Senegal. It is expected to produce about 2.3 million tons of LNG per year for 20 years. In addition, it is the largest offshore project currently underway in Africa.
The company also signed an exploration contract for the BirAllah gas resource earlier this year. Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP’s Executive Vice President of Gas and Low Carbon Energy says:
“We are already developing one of the most innovative gas projects in the world with the support of the Mauritanian government. […] Together with the Mauritanian government, we will now work to understand how green hydrogen could best be delivered, applying our technical skills and expertise to help unlock the country’s clean energy potential.”
An opportunity for the future
This MoU also represents an opportunity for Mauritania in terms of renewable hydrogen. BP’s portfolio of options for developing renewable and blue hydrogen projects is expanding globally. In addition, the company works with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States.
It is strong of its partnership with the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) allowing it to acquire 40,5% in the capital and the exploitation. BP will carry out feasibility studies of the project. The main focus will be to conduct a data collection campaign in selected locations.
The studies will evaluate the suitability of wind and solar resources before expanding hydrogen production to a large scale. Mauritania could benefit from growth through renewable energy. In addition, hydrogen is one of the five growth drivers of BP’s energy transition.
