Perenco SA has put into service its first gas-to-industry supply project in Central Africa with the Bipaga Gas Processing Center in Cameroon.Sourcing natural gas from the Sanaga South field, the processing center supplies a tile factory owned by Chinese company Keda Cameroon Ceramics Ltd. The gas is transported via a 5.27-kilometer (3.3 miles) pipeline operated by Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Corp. (SNH).
Sanaga South, on the Cameroonian side of the Gulf of Guinea, is a joint venture between British-French hydrocarbon producer Perenco and state-owned SNH.With an initial daily production capacity of about 50,000 square meters (538,195.5 square feet) of tiles, the Keda factory is expected to consume 3.5 million to 6.5 million cubic feet of gas a day, according to online information from SNH. The natural gas powers the factory’s electrical generators and kilns.
“The supply of gas from the Bipaga Processing Centre, framed by a gas sales contract signed in September 2022 between Perenco Cameroon and its partner SNH, ensures the supply of gas for 20 years”, Perenco said in a statement announcing the startup of the processing center.
“This new energy supply is key to regional industrial development and enables Keda to achieve the required technical specifications for the most economical production of ceramics, while utilizing clean, low-cost energy”, it added, noting the factory is the biggest tile factory in Central Africa and meets two-thirds of the domestic demand.
“This project represents a significant growth opportunity which secures the industrial future of the Bipaga-Sanaga site and enables Perenco Cameroon to pursue its gas strategy initiated 15 years ago”, Perenco said.The factory will create about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Kribi region, according to Perenco.“Perenco Cameroon’s first gas-to-industry project marks an important milestone and strengthens the fruitful and historic partnership between Perenco Cameroon and SNH”, Perenco Cameroon managing director Yves Postec said in the company statement.
“The delivery of gas to Keda Ceramics builds upon our successful track record of project delivery in collaboration with SNH in Cameroon, such as the 20-year production sharing agreement for Rio del Rey signed last year and our joint contract for Golar LNG’s Hilli FLNG unit”.The production sharing contract for Rio del Rey with SNH continues Perenco’s over-a-decade investment in the basin, which accounts for around 70 percent of Cameroon’s hydrocarbon production, according to Perenco. Perenco’s Rio del Rey oil output averages 35,000 barrels per day.
“This new contract creates a solid foundation on which we will be able to build an ambitious program of modernizing our facilities, reducing emissions, exploring the area, seizing new opportunities, developing satellite projects and supporting the country in meeting its future energy challenges”, Perenco’s Armel Simondin, who took over as chief executive of the group in March 2024, said in a company statement June 12, 2023.Meanwhile, for the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel Hilli Episeyo, which started operation 2018, Perenco has a co-production agreement with Bermuda-based Golar LNG Ltd. and SNH.
Source:https://www.rigzone.com