BP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Mauritania to explore the potential for green hydrogen production in the African country.
The MoU was signed at a meeting alongside COP27, by the President of Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, HE Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh, Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy for the Government of Mauritania, BP’s chief executive Bernard Looney, Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP’s executive vice president of gas and low carbon energy, and other BP executives.
Under the agreement, BP will carry out a number of studies to evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of producing green hydrogen in Mauritania.
BP will initially carry out a data collection campaign with studies assessing the suitability of the wind and solar resources in selected locations for large-scale renewable power generation and green hydrogen production.
Dotzenrath (pictured) said: “We are already developing one of the world’s most innovative gas projects with the support of the Mauritanian government.
“And we now intend to expand our partnership into low carbon energy by exploring the potential for a world-leading green hydrogen development, which could position Mauritania at the forefront of the energy transition.
“Together with the Mauritanian Government, we will now work to understand how green hydrogen could best be delivered, applying our technical skills and expertise to help unlock the country’s clean energy potential.”
Hydrogen is one of BP’s five “energy transition growth engines”.
It recently acquired a 40.5% equity stake and operatorship of the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), in Australia.