- A champion of the gas industry and African energy investment, Equatorial Guinea’s minister of mines and hydrocarbons, Gabriel Obiang Lima, this year led the Year of Energy initiative, in which Equatorial Guinea launched major domestic and pan-African natural gas projects.
This enabled the country to make significant steps toward its goal of becoming a regional energy hub, with advancements including the launch of the 2019 oil, gas and mining licensing round offering up 24 offshore and two onshore blocks.
Additionally, this West African country has concluded the signing of definitive agreements for the monetisation of gas from the Alen unit in the Gas Megahub project and – in a first for the region – the inauguration of an LNG storage and regasification plant in the mainland region of Equatorial Guinea as part of the LNG2Africa project.
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“Gas has the potential to transform the African energy industry. In Equatorial Guinea, we have made the decision to focus our efforts on gas developments as part of the government’s priority in developing a regional Gas Megahub. We want to lead by example and showcase the opportunities the monetisation of gas resources can create for our economy,” said minister Obiang Lima.
He added: “Our objective is clear. We want to build infrastructure, promote intra-African cooperation, develop a sustainable economy and improve our local content and, with gas, all of this is achievable in the near future.”
Author: Babalwa Bungane
This article was originally published on ESI Africa and is republished with permission with minor editorial changes.
