German Expertise is Behind West Africa’s First LNG Storage and Regasification Plant

The Akonikien plant will be receiving LNG and distribute it to various industries on the mainland, such as power and cement

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 20, 2019/ — German companies ESC Engineers and Noordtec worked closely with Equatoguinean contractor Elite Construcciones on the design, development and construction of the Akonikien LNG project in Equatorial Guinea. The 14,000 cubic metres storage and regasification plant was inaugurated this week by H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, and is the first such facility in West Africa.

The project is part of Equatorial Guinea’s LNG2AFRICA initiative that seeks to develop small-scale LNG projects to supply African gas to African countries and regions with limited infrastructure. The Akonikien plant will be receiving LNG and distribute it to various industries on the mainland, such as power and cement.

“German companies have once again demonstrated their ability to bring valuable technical expertise and technology to meet Africa’s growing and complex energy needs,” declared Sebastian Wagner, founder at the Germany-Africa Business Forum (GABF). “More importantly, this project was realized in cooperation with German SMEs, showing the increasing number of private German companies able to work in collaboration with African entities on key energy project. Germany has developed a strong expertise in gas, power and renewables, which have all become central to the African energy agenda.”

Last month and in order to support the growing energy cooperation between Germany and Africa, the GABF launched a multi-million Euro funding commitment to invest in German energy startups that focus on Africa. The funding commitment, which pledges funds to German startups with exposure to African energy projects, is the first such intra-regional initiative. It goes in line with Germany’s renewed focus on Africa, with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) providing new stimulus to cooperation with the continent through the Marshall Plan with Africa.