Pergentino Mba Nguema Alene, Director General of Luba Oil Terminal Equatorial Guinea
Luba Oil Terminal Equatorial Guinea (LOTEG) is seeking to expand fuel storage services to the mainland and neighboring countries via two new projects underway and the construction of gas stations in the city of Malabo. Energy Capital & Power spoke to LOTEG Director General Pergentino Mba Nguema Alene about the impact of COVID-19 on the company and its post-pandemic outlook.
What has been the impact of COVID-19 on LOTEG’s activities in Equatorial Guinea?
LOTEG has been operating in the hydrocarbons sector in Equatorial Guinea since 2002, specifically supporting the operations of offshore oil exploration, drilling and production, and supplying products, gas oil, and lubricants as part of an uninterrupted, around-the-clock assistance service. We supply diesel and lubricants to operating companies. Last year, activity dropped considerably due to the pandemic. Mobility of people has been greatly reduced. Obviously, demand also dropped considerably, which has affected energy companies, too. If demand was at 80%, then it has been reduced to less than 40%. If our monthly demand for diesel was more than 20,000 tons, it has been reduced to 4,000-5,000 tons.
What are the key factors that enabled LOTEG to become a leader within Equatorial Guinea’s oil products sector?
The key factors that have driven LOTEG’s growth have largely been the following:
- Preferred supplier in the region: Our deliveries have consistently been very punctual. Our USI pipeline, the strategic location of our storage plant in the port of Luba and our high storage capacity helps us to ensure that our clients are served at all times.
- The best partner: We have better legal advantages (free port), and our supply facility is well located in terms of proximity to many destinations in the region. Flexibility in prices is another factor to which we attach great importance.
- Offered services: The services we offer meet all the standards of the sector, including operations monitoring services and product loading and unloading rations. In the sale and supply of fuel, we comply with the quality, handling and operability specifications requested by the client. We have a product analysis and certification laboratory.
- Storage capacity: We have three storage tanks for products of two units of 10,560 m³ and one UDS of 1,000 m³.
- Operating capacity of the plant: We have met all required international standards. We have a pumping capacity of 250 cubic meters per hour for ships and about 10 cubic meters for tanker trucks (every five minutes). At our loading and unloading areas, we are capable of supplying two vessels simultaneously.
In which segments of the hydrocarbons industry do you see growth opportunities, not only in Equatorial Guinea, but also within the region?
We believe that we can expand our activity in the service sector, particularly in the supply of hydrocarbons, diesel, fuel and lubricants. As we expand our activities on the mainland – with two projects that include the expansion of the Luba plant and construction of a new plant on the continental region – we will have to build a pipeline from the commercial port of Luba to our plant so that we can store gasoline. This will allow us to supply not only exploration and offshore production, but also provide assistance to companies on the mainland. We might even be able to enter the international market and neighboring countries like Cameroon or Gabon to compete with other supply companies, so that our activity can grow. We are currently building two gas stations in the city of Malabo to get a foothold on distribution, with two projects under construction in the Ela Nguema area and in Sampaca.
ECP, in partnership with the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons, will launch the Africa Energy Series: Equatorial Guinea 2021 campaign – comprising a report and documentary – that will serve as a critical tool to navigate the energy investment landscape of one of Africa’s more mature petroleum-producing markets. To participate in the upcoming Africa Energy Series documentaries, please contact [email protected] and to advertise or sponsor, please contact [email protected].
