Mauritania establishes a special zone dedicated to energy

Nouakchott hosted on Tuesday, April 25 a consultation meeting between, on the one hand, the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy and the Ministry of Equipment and Transport (supervision of ports) and on the other hand, oil operators, engineering and logistics service providers and the private sector.

The objective of this conference was to present to stakeholders the project for the creation of a zone dedicated to oil and gas activities as well as energy projects in prospect in Mauritania.

The Mauritanian Government, through the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy and with the financial support of the World Bank, had entrusted a few months ago the feasibility study of this special zone to a Consortium of three specialized firms: EPCM Consultants (South Africa), Jade Advisory (Tunisia) and Meen & Meen (Mauritania). The mission of the Consultant is also to study the creation of such a zone dedicated to the activities of hydrocarbons within the framework of a contract of public-private partnership (PPP) more adequate to the attraction of FDI.

Indeed, recent discoveries of world-class gas fields such as GTA and Birallah represent a major opportunity for Mauritania to move towards economic development and growth. The current global energy crisis has served as a catalyst for the judicious exploitation of Mauritania's hydrocarbon potential to attract investment, industrialization, job creation and prosperity.

In addition, there is a global trend towards energy transition and the decarbonization of certain sectors with high GHG emissions. Mauritania has joined the Paris Agreements and intends to pursue Net-Zero by 2050.

Mauritania's commitment to energy transition is already reflected in its determination to develop its solar and wind energy potential for the production of renewable energy, firstly to increase the share of its energy mix in the national mix, and secondly to produce hydrogen and green steel.

Thus, reducing the carbon footprint remains an uncompromising goal for Mauritania in favor of sustainability in all sectors of activity.

The creation of this zone unequivocally translates this vision of sustainability through the exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of a sustainable development respectful of nature and social welfare. This will be done first by producing clean and affordable energy that can be used to develop a viable economic-industrial fabric that will eventually be part of a broader vision of regional economic inclusion.

Mauritania has all the assets needed to achieve this goal of national prosperity and regional integration. However, the fundamental conditions for achieving these objectives are a modern and attractive legal and regulatory framework, an equally attractive business climate, and the development of basic infrastructure and capacity building.