Cotonou LNG Terminal
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Cotonou LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal under development in Benin. There have been no updates in over five years and the project is presumed to be cancelled. However, in 2019 a similar project was proposed by Total S.A. and the Republic of Benin called the Benin FSRU Terminal.
Contents
Location
The map below shows the port of Cotonou, in Littoral department, Benin. The proposed LNG terminal would be a floating terminal, and would be anchored in the port.
Project details
- Owner: Gasol
- Location: Contonou, Benin
- Coordinates: 6.346, 2.429 (approximate)
- Capacity:
- Status: Cancelled
- Type: Import
- Start Year:
Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day
Background
In December 2012, the London-headquartered West African energy company Gasol announced a partnership with SOCAR, the Azerbaijani state-owned oil company, to build a floating LNG storage and regasification unit in the harbor of Cotonou, Benin's largest city.[1][2]
The motivation for the project is somewhat complex, and centers on Gasol's goal of marketing natural gas to West African countries. While Gasol hopes to commercialize natural gas that is currently being offgassed by Nigerian oil producers, that gas production is not expected to materialize for a number of years. The West African Gas Pipeline, connecting Nigeria with Benin, Togo, and Ghana, and operated by Chevron, was hypothetically completed in 2006, but the pipeline has had problems with technical malfunctions and international disagreements since then.[3][4] Gasol's goal, in constructing the Cotonou LNG terminal, is to provide a stopgap source of gas to Benin, Togo, and Ghana, via the West African Gas Pipeline, until Nigerian gas production is able to increase. Gasol aims to market the gas to power producers, who would use it to replace diesel oil for electricity production, as well as to industrial customers.[5][6]
Also in 2012, Gasol partnered with Société BenGaz, a Beninese company run by a prominent national politician. In February 2014, the President of Benin gave an initial green light to the project. In June 2015, after a year of negotiations, Benin's energy ministry gave Gasol permission to conduct detailed studies on the project.[7]
There had been no updates on the project since mid-2015 and the project is presumed to be cancelled. Gasol's website, as of June 2017, had also not been updated since then. It is unclear whether the project is still moving forward. However, in 2019 a similar project was proposed by Total S.A. and the Republic of Benin called the Benin FSRU Terminal.
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Gasol forms alliance with Socar for West Africa LNG project, Platts, 20 Dec. 2012.
- ↑ Cotonou Lng Import Terminal, A Barrel Full, accessed June 2017.
- ↑ WAGP remains unsteady, Africa Energy Intelligence, 10 July 2014.
- ↑ West Africa gas pipeline cuts supply to Ghana over unpaid bills, Reuters, 21 June 2016.
- ↑ Annual Report and Accounts, Gasol plc, 2012.
- ↑ Benin LNG Import Project, Gasol website, accessed June 2017.
- ↑ Gasol's gas import project starts gaining traction, Africa Energy Intelligence, 30 June 2015.
