H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe has commended Equatorial Guinea for its success in achieving energy self-sufficiency for its capital city, Malabo, with the country enjoying complete access to electricity in the city backed by power generated from domestic gas.
The Zimbabwean president was accompanied by Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, H.E. Antonio Oburu Ondo, on behalf of H.E. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
H.E Mnanganwa expressed his admiration during a state visit to the Central African nation’s Punta Europa facility – a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) processing plant located in Bioko Norte province – as part of a wider three-day state visit to the country aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and sharing skills and knowledge around resource monetization.
Writing in the visitors’ book at the Punta Europa facility this week, H.E. President Mnangagwa shared that, “I am happy that this complex is domestically operated by the local people of this Republic. Further, I admire the gas powered buses operated here in Malabo. Congratulations for this self-sufficiency.”
Equatorial Guinea’s success in achieving self-sufficiency comes from its capacity to monetize offshore gas resources both domestically and from across the regional landscape. Since its launch in 2007, the Punta Europa LNG plant has helped position the country as a regional processing hub, aligning with the country’s wider Gas Mega Hub initiative which targets this very objective. In addition to electrifying Malabo, the Punta Europa facility exports LNG to international markets, allowing Equatorial Guinea to scale-up revenue generated from gas.
With Zimbabwe targeting its own oil and gas discoveries with an upstream campaign currently underway by Australian-listed hydrocarbon explorer, Invictus Energy, insight and lessons learned from Equatorial Guinea will be key as the country pursues the monetization of its recently revealed 20 trillion cubic feet of estimated reserves.
