SOCAR purchases shares of consortium in Ivory Coast
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By Nigar Abbasova
Azerbaijan’s state energy giant SOCAR expands its presence in the energy market of West African countries. The company has obtained 26-percent share in Ivory Coast LNG consortium led by France’s Total Company.
The CI-GNL (Ivory Coast LNG) consortium has received the rights to build and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal in Ivory Coast with a capacity of 3 million tons per year.
The re-gasification terminal project is expected to become operational by mid-2018.
Ivory Coast signed a partnership pact on October 4 to create a consortium headed by France's Total to build LNG import terminal that could begin receiving gas shipments by mid-2018.
The agreement was signed in Abidjan between French oil major Total, which will operate the project with a 34 percent share, national companies Petro CI (11 percent) and CI Energies (5 percent) as well as SOCAR (26 percent), Shell (13 percent), Golar (6 percent) and Endeavor Energy (5 percent).
Ivory Coast, French-speaking West Africa's largest economy, which possesses the region's most reliable power production sector have recently faced with concerns of a supply crunch due to a lack of new domestic gas discoveries. The establishment of LNG in Ivory Coast is expected to open a new era in the production of electricity.
The project involves the construction of a terminal with a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) in Vridi, Abidjan area, and a pipeline connecting the FSRU to existing and planned power plants in Abidjan, as well as to regional markets connected to the Ivorian network.
This will enable Ivory Coast to become the first regional LNG import hub in West Africa, and to meet both regional and domestic demand.
SOCAR is keen to activate its commercial operations and strengthen prestige of Azerbaijan worldwide.
SOCAR expanded its presence in Africa in 2015 by buying a 20 percent stake in Benin's Octogone Stockage de Produits Petroliers that engaged in crude storage. The project became the first direct investment of the SOCAR in West Africa.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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