Mauritania has huge gas reserves estimated at 110 trillion cubic feet (Shutterstock)
Mauritania announced on Sunday that it will export the first shipment of natural gas discovered in the middle of next year.
This came in a speech by Minister of Petroleum and Energy Nani Ould Ashrouka, during his participation in a seminar on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
"Mauritania will produce in the middle of next year the first gas shipment for export from the Ahmeim Grand field shared with Senegal," Ould Achrouga said.
He added that the gas expected to be produced from the Ahmeim Kabir and Birallah fields is a great opportunity for Mauritania and will have repercussions on the country's economy.
On Saturday, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani said it was "completely unfair to deprive developing countries of exploiting their energy resources because of the cost of the energy transition".
Ghazouani was speaking at a session dedicated to discussing the topic of "Green Industrialization in Africa" within the program of the UN conference.
He added that he sees no contradiction or contradiction between the development of Mauritania's gas resources and its ambition to develop the green hydrogen industry.
Mauritania has huge gas reserves estimated at 110 trillion cubic feet, placing it third in Africa after Nigeria (207 trillion cubic feet) and Algeria (159 trillion cubic feet).
Mauritania surpasses Egypt, which has an estimated reserves of 63 trillion cubic feet, and Libya by about 55 trillion cubic feet.
The Mauritanian Birallah field has the largest share of this gas, with reserves of approximately 80 trillion cubic feet, while the turtle field has reserves of 25 trillion cubic feet.
Mauritanians are looking forward to the country's gas revenues improving their living conditions and providing opportunities for unemployed youth, with unemployment reaching 30 percent in the Arab country of about 4 million people.
Previous economic forecasts indicated that the large "Ahmeem" turtle project alone will generate significant revenues for the Mauritanian treasury estimated at $ 100 million annually in the first phase of production, reaching $ <> billion annually in the second and third phases.
Source : Al Jazeera + Anatolia