TAR121_Q42022_MAURITANIA

INTERVIEW / Peter

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MAURITANIA FOCUS

Gas-poweredhopes

Mauritania is set to become amajor natural gas producer in late 2023 thanks to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim offshore project with Senegal. Wary of the dangers such promise can bring, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is trying to manage expectations

EIFF AGE

Mauritaniaplans to exploit the riches of the sea

Gas-powered hopes

By JULIEN CLÉMENÇOT and JUSTINE SPIEGEL in Nouakchott

The third quarter of 2023 is set to bring the launch of BP and its partners’ huge Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) offshore gas field. Straddling the border between Mauritania and Senegal, it promises a big boost to government revenue, but also brings worries about whether the two governments will manage and spend the money effectively to get the most out of the resource boom for their countries.

Elected in June of 2019, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania is under pressure to deliver He is facing his first crit icisms after a long honeymoon, having replaced strongman Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

So far, Mauritania’s iron ore deposits and modest oil reserves have not led to a sea change in the country ’s economic performance. The government is therefore wary about raising too many hopes about a gas boom that would benefit from high international energy prices due to the conflict in Ukraine.

The gas field holds an estimated 15trn cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, and its $4.8bn development programme includes a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant

that will supply international buyers

It is set to produce 2.5m tonnes per annum. The Mauritanian authorities have not provided detailed figures about how much revenue the GTA project will create, but Senegal estimates that it will bring its own government annual revenue of about $605m by 2030.

Further exploration

The Mauritanian and Senegalese authorities are planning other GTA phases, and BP has discovered an estimated 13 trillion cubic

Senegal says the GTA project

feet (Tcf ) of natural gas at the BirAllah field on the Mauritania side of the border. Energy majors like TotalEnergies and Shell are also exploring for oil and gas in Mauritania.

Ghazouani has communicated little about the project A retired general, it is likely he is mindful of the coup d’état that ousted President Maaouiya Ould Taya in 2005 after

a period of euphoria over the promises of the Chinguetti oil field development. Chinguetti brought as much disappointment as it had brought hope

Economy minister Ousmane Mamadou Kane outlines the risks: “In the years 2003-2005, there were high expectations for the Chinguetti deposit After a few years, the disappointment was total. This

is a lesson that we must take into account The potential is there. All the measures are being taken, with our various partners, to make this project a real success However, we are dependent on the good relations we must continue to have with BP. Their priorities will not necessarily always be ours. Finally, these resources are also intended for export, to countries where an

unfavourable opinion of fossil fuels is developing.”

Recent criticism of the Mauritanian President’s management style provides some insight into how the gas boom could play out Ghazouani, a measured and very discreet 65-year- old from a large and influential Sufi brotherhood, is now being called to account for his first three years

in the presidential palace Some accuse him of having locked himself in an ivory tower, not bringing in fresh political leader ship and lacking ambition.

“His predecessor was omnipres ent,” says Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef, the secretary general of the presidency. “He has a different method, a different culture. His achievements are numerous, and we are aware that we need to communicate more about them. The first reports are being printed for distribution.”

Ghazouani’s backers say he has had some early successes: an effective response to the Covid-19 pandemic; an increase in the number of classrooms and the recruitment of 8,000 civil servants; new roads; and the improvement of basic infrastructure.

The trial of Aziz Aziz continues to cast a long shadow over the government in Nouakchott, and his fate will be a test of its commitment to good governance and justice. The authorities are prosecuting him for among other things corruption

Dakar builds

and money laundering. His trial, along with those of his 11 coaccused, is set to start in the coming months. He faces between 10 and 20 years in prison.

Ghazouani, who insists that he is not involved in the case, will continue to manage the political fallout of this extremely sensitive judicial case. Especially since his

hopes

predecessor has promised a full testimony of what he knows when he is called to the stand.

Aziz, who continues to wield a media presence through the statements of his lawyers, says there is a political dimension to his case and claims to be the regime’s number one opponent.

Recently, leaders of the traditional opposition parties have been quieter on the national scene. They had requested a national dialogue in order to discuss wide-ranging reforms. Ghazouani was at first opposed to the idea, but finally said he accepted the idea in principle. Since then, the dialogue has been postponed indefinitely

Social policies

Politically cautious, Ghazouani also appears to be in retreat on the economic front The strategy of accelerated growth and prosperity adopted in 2016 still serves as his road map, and a new three-year plan is being developed. But, in a statement, Kane, the economic affairs minister, acknowledged that more than half of development projects are behind schedule.

While the problem is not new, the current government has clearly not found a remedy for

this chronic challenge. Amidst the Covid crisis, Ghazouani’s government has focused on the poorest segments of the population: 100,000 Mauritanians have signed up for state health insurance and 200,000 people have received cash transfers

These social measures, perhaps because they represent an unex pected break with the past, but, above all, because they mainly affect families living outside Nouakchott, have not been enough to defuse the criticism of the key economic players in the capital. They point to the lack of structural projects For example, the country still lacks suf ficient storage capacity for refined fuel products, which complicates the country’s hydrocarbon supplies.

In difficult conditions, the government is pleased to have preserved the budget balance for the moment. According to economic affairs minister Kane, “a 5% deficit in the current circumstances is acceptable” But critics of the government are also concerned about the increase in the budget, which rose from 50bn to 88bn ouguiyas ($2.4bn) between 2019 and 2022.

Moreover, the head of state has decided that necessary measures will be taken to cancel cash handouts decided on at the height of the health crisis and to reduce fuel subsidies even if it means damaging his popularity For the executive, it is a question of keeping a small margin of manoeuvre in order to manage the effects of the Ukrainian crisis, which is pushing up the prices of

fertilisers, wheat and fuel, and causing inflation to approach 10%.

The decision by the oil minister, Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh, to renegotiate the country’s supply of refined products after the Ukraine conflict broke out is weighing on public finances and focusing criticism from economic circles. Despite these difficulties, the executive is not giving up the optimism it displayed at the beginning of the year, counting on 5% growth for 2022.

Debt restructuring

In the short term, the country is out of danger since the government reached an agreement with Kuwait last year, and with Saudi Arabia in April, to restructure the debts owed to these two countries. This should allow Nouakchott to sign an aid programme with the International Monetary Fund and give Ghazouani the hope of becoming the first president of the country to raise funds on the international markets.

In these conditions, will Ghazouani manage to convince his fellow citizens that he is still the man for the job? It is whispered in the corridors of the palace that he is already preparing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential vote

But the next test will be the legislative and municipal elections, scheduled for 2023, and the successful launch of the GTA project, which policymakers in Nouakchott hope will provide enough funds to build a stronger social safety net and build infrastructure to support the growth and diversification of the rest of the economy.

Aziz, who continues to wield a media presence, says the case is political and that he is the regime’s number one opponent

The head of state has decided to cancel cash handouts and reduce fuel subsidies even it if means damaging his popularity

The National Bank of Mauritania: APioneer

Asocially responsible bank

MOHAMED NOUEIGUED

Cre ated in 1989 fr om the merger of two banks(BIMA and SMB), the National Bank of Mauritania (BNM) is one of the undisputed leadersofthe sector in Mauritania. It is akey player in economic development and the extension of basic banking services.Itoperates in several financial fields (real estate credit, consumer credit, leasing) and has alarge distribution network to ensure itscustomersalocal service. With a daily action based on the values of commitment, innovation and diversity,the National Bank of Mauritania mobilizes all itsresources to serve the country.

Thank st ot he Fondation Solidarité-BNM, the National Bank of Mauritania fully assumes itss ocial resp onsi bility.I th as thusd eveloped structuringprojectsinseveral fields (education,conservation and renovation of places of worship, promotion of sportsetc.). The S-BNM Foundation aims to have apositive and sustainable impact on society through the establishment of strong and long-term partnerships with civil society actors (start-ups, incubators) thatcontribute to theachievement of itsmission.

Training anddeveloping human capital

With nearly 40 yearso fe xpertise, the National Bank of Mauritania is constantly developing the sk illso f it se mployees thr ough ar ich and diversi fied training sys tem that is perfectly in tune with the evolution of jobs within the bank by setting up tr aining cycles in soft sk illsa sw ell as busi ness training designed within the framework of the «BNM Academy» training courses.

A presence on the whole national territory

2nd largestemployer in the banking sector

52% of theBank’s staff arewomen

Construction of school complexes in Bakreol and Mbout

Support to theNouakchott Specialty Center

Payment of salaries to medical and paramedical staff at the hospital in Chinguetti

Accompanying and supporting the mission of the foreign volunteer doctorsatthe National Heart Centre

MohamedAbdellahi Ould Yaha, facilitatorofmega-projects

The Mauritian businessman is the CEO of Maurilog,which provides services to BP and subcontractors on the huge GTAgas field between Mauritania and Senegal. Besides logistics, his group is involved in the marine food industry

By JULIEN CLÉMENÇOT in Nouakchott

From the roof of the five-storey building thatMohamedAbdellahi OuldYaha is having built,the chairman andCEO of Maurilog has a360- degree view of theport of Nouakchott. On one side is the container terminal; on the other, the 65,000-square-metre logistics platform that storesthe equipment he provides to BP and its subcontractors,such as Technip, Baker Hughesand Schlumberger.

Cables,drill pipes, lifting equipment–everything is impeccablyarrang is mindful of his p expectations.Hei of businessman wh around hisbuildin end of theday,pic tools,nails or scre workers have left b has become astate explains theAtar n

g ged Yaha partners’ s the kind ho walks ngs at the cking up ews that behind. “It e of mind,” native.

To pass on this d his 220employees on twoformer Brit soldiers and a dozenexpatriates, while the rest of his staff areMauritanian.

The businessmanisone of the fewin Nouakchott to already benefit from the discovery

discipline to s, he relies tish

of the Geater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA)mega-gas field, discovered in 2016off the coast of Saint-Louis, straddling the Senegal-Mauritania border. After an initialinvestment phase of morethan$5bn, BP shouldbeginexploitingthisfield at the end of 2023,producing 2.5m tonnesofgas peryear.

By then,the Britishcompanywill have decidedwhether to renewits logistics contract with Maurilog for another four yearsorwhether to awardittoits competitors Bolloré or MCI.The Senegalese and Mauritanian governments

g are GTA shareholders and are each pushing their own candidate, slowing down the decision.

Some former ministers and Mauritanian investors say that connections between Yaha and former president

MohamedOuldAbdel Aziz have helpedMaurilog.The twomen, who belong to the Oulad Bousbaa tribe,had agood relationship.The entrepreneur pointsout that he has not benefitedfromasinglepublic contract and lists the numerous audits imposedonhis company by his partners.

Gone fishing

Maurilog madeits big move into logistics in 2014 when it bought a subsidiary of German company DB Schenker.Its equipment had to be renewedand debts paidoff.“In investedabout $25m,”says mpany's soleshareholder. 1,the oil logistics business ted $20m in revenue a does not receiveany nds from Maurilog,however. esoff various activities d to the fisheries sector, ngwith Chinese consortium Hong Dong,which has been g and processing fish in the y since 2010. “I accompanied oup during its installation …]I nowrent it 20 artisanal g boats,” he says.Fishing eshim with anicelifestyle: ned $10m in 2021,heowns osing villa in the city , adjoining theofficesof rinvest,his holding company alsoowns aguest house ataccommodatesMaurilog xpatriates.

total, I the com In 2021 generat Yaha dividen He live related workin Poly H fishing country this gro and [ fishing provide he earn an imp centre, Maur He a tha ex

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