Mixed outlook for Mauritania’s upstream

As a major LNG scheme continues to advance on the Mauritania-Senegal border, other Mauritanian upstream prospects may be left behind

Mauritania is attempting to encourage further exploration of its offshore gas prospects, in addition to the ongoing development of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project shared with neighbouring Senegal. But despite that scheme’s progress, there is little indication of the potentially large-scale Orca-1 prospect advancing. Norwegian oil services firm TGS—backed by Mauritania’s ministry of hydrocarbons and what it describes as “industry funding”—will carry out a seismic survey in the Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Bissau-Conakry basin off the Mauritanian coast. The survey will examine “ultra-deep and deepwater areas” in order “to build on the success [of] Greater Tortue Ahmeyim”. The seismic data will