6 World Economic Forum January 2023
STATS
Projects and investments to track in 2023 Projects in oil, gas, and infrastructure
Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway The $15.6bn highway, which should be completed by the end of 2024, is 1052km long and goes from Abidjan to Lagos through Accra, Lomé, and Cotonou, serving 70m inhabitants and linking important commercial ports which will benefit the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
Mozambique LNG project The $24bn Mozambique LNG project, started in 2010 and led by French multinational Total Energies, is expected to produce 12.88m tonnes of LNG per year. However, it was stopped last March following a terrorist attack in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. As a result of improved security, the project may resume in first half of 2023, which will position Mozambique as a major exporter of natural gas to Europe.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, first proposed in December 2016 with an estimated cost of $25bn, will be an extension of the existing West African Gas Pipeline between Nigeria and Ghana. It will connect Nigeria with Tanger, running along the West African coast, with a possible extension to Europe via Cadiz in Spain. Upon completion, the gas pipeline will be the world’s longest offshore pipeline.
Investment in renewable energy
World biggest onshore windfarm in Egypt On the sidelines of Cop27, the UAE and Egypt signed a MoU to develop one of the world’s biggest onshore wind farms in Egypt, a 10 GW plant worth approximately $11bn. Construction will be undertaken by Masdar, the UAE’s largest renewable energy company, and Infinity Power a joint venture between Masdar and Egyptian company Infinity.
UK-Morocco subsea cable Last March British company Xlinks announced it will build a 10.5 GW solar and wind power plant in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region in Morocco. The electricity produced will be transported to the United Kingdom by a 3,800km submarine cable. While the financial close should take place this year, Xlinks plans to install the cable in 2025.
Namibia’s first green ammonia delivery Hyphen, a green energy supplier based in Windhoek, was appointed preferred bidder by the Namibian government to develop the first green hydrogen project in Namibia for export. By 2027 the project aims to annually produce 1m tons of green ammonia - a hydrogen derivative that is particularly suitable for transport by ship. Last December, German multinational company RWE signed a MoU with Hyphen that could see RWE offtake up to 300,000 tons of this green ammonia per year.
$11bn
On the sidelines of Cop27, the UAE and Egypt signed a MoU to develop one of the world’s biggest onshore wind farms in Egypt, a 10 GW plant worth approximately $11bn
