Mauritania's energy consumption
Mauritania's energy consumption landscape is characterized by a heavy reliance on energy imports, with significant efforts underway to develop its own oil and gas resources. The country has been gradually opening up its onshore and offshore oil deposits, particularly since the discovery of the Chinguetti field in 2001. In 2023, Mauritania's proven oil reserves were estimated at 20 million barrels, with a production rate exceeding 4,000 barrels per day. Additionally, the nation is poised to become a significant natural gas producer, especially following the recent discovery of large gas fields, including the BirAllah field with estimated reserves of 80 trillion cubic feet.
Electricity generation in Mauritania is primarily derived from fossil fuels, making up roughly two-thirds of its energy production, supplemented by hydroelectric sources. The country’s single refinery in Nouadhibou operates well below its capacity, indicating challenges in domestic refining capabilities. Historically, Mauritania has not utilized coal in recent years, and electricity production was around 800 gigawatt-hours in 2014.
Despite its potential resources, Mauritania faces hurdles due to government instability and economic vulnerability, with a significant portion of its population living below the poverty line. International partnerships and financial support, especially from entities like the African Development Bank, are essential for enhancing its energy infrastructure and addressing critical needs such as electricity access, particularly in rural areas.
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Mauritania's energy consumption
OfficialName: Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
Summary: Almost entirely dependent on imports for energy, Mauritania has in recent years accelerated its opening of onshore and offshore oil deposits through international contracts for exploration and production. Government instability has been at the root of Mauritania’s halting progress in energy development.
A west African country with a 468-mile (754-kilometer) coast on the Atlantic Ocean, Mauritania shares borders with Algeria, Mali, Senegal, and the Morocco-administered Western Sahara. Large in area at more than 385,250 miles (620,000 square kilometers), Mauritania’s population is approximately 3 million. Nearly all Mauritanian land is desert; less than 1 percent of the land is suitable for sustained raising of crops.
Half the population depends on livestock and agriculture for their livelihood, although droughts are forcing more farmers and herders into cities. The estimated per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 was $6,300—ranked 16th among the world's nations—with more than 31 percent of the population living below the poverty line and a 2023 unemployment rate on 10.5 percent. On measures of well-being, Mauritania’s population ranks low: in 2024 the country’s infant mortality rate was 48.9 deaths per 1,000 live births (19th-highest in the world), life expectancy was 65.9 years (204th-highest in the world), and the literacy rate was 67 percent.
Mauritania became independent from France in 1960 and was ruled from 1984 to 2005 by Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya, who took power in a coup and was deposed in a bloodless coup. In 2007, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi became Mauritania’s first freely elected president, but he was ousted in a military coup in 2008 by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who was elected president in 2009. Ethnic tensions and a growing terrorism threat from al-Qaeda continue to trouble the country. This instability has hampered economic development. In 2000, most of Mauritania’s foreign debt was forgiven under the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative. In 2006 the country agreed to an International Monetary Fund three-year “poverty reduction and growth facility.” This arrangement was suspended after the coup in 2008, although since the presidential election in 2009, international assistance has resumed. Mauritania was classified as a least developed country by the United Nations, along with thirty-two other African countries, based on its low income, low human capital status, and economic vulnerability.
China, accounting for 24 percent of Mauritania’s export business in 2022, was by far the country’s largest trading partner; the next largest was Canada at 12 percent. The leading export goods were iron ore, gold, copper, petroleum, and fish. The nation's 2023 GDP was $30.395 billion.
Mauritania has begun expanding exploration for and production of crude oil, an effort accelerated since the 2001 discovery of the offshore Chinguetti field. A smaller underwater field, Tevet, was discovered in 2005. Proven reserves of crude oil in the country were estimated at 20 million barrels in 2023, when the country was producing more than 4,000 barrels per day. Consumption of refined petroleum products in 2017 was 17,000 barrels per day. Mauritania had one refinery, at Nouadhibou, with a 20,000-barrel-per-day capacity; it typically runs at perhaps one-quarter capacity. Although Mauritania had an estimated 28 billion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves, this resource was not being exploited prior to the late 2010s and early 2020s. However, the discovery of two large gas fields off the nation’s coast had Mauritania poised to become a major producer of natural gas in West Africa. In 2022, the nation entered into a production deal with British Petroleum and Kosmos Energy from the United States to extract gas from the BirAllah gas field, which is estimated to contain 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Although Mauritania was a consumer of coal in the 1980s and 1990s (entirely imported), it no longer uses coal and has no coal reserves. In 2014, electricity generation was about 800 gigawatt-hours. Total primary energy production in 2014 was 0.013 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 93rd in the world. Mauritania’s electricity production and consumption both stood at around 800 gigawatt-hours in 2014. Mauritania generated around two-thirds of its electricity from fossil fuels. Most of the remainder comes from hydroelectric sources. Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of fossil fuels totaled 2.76 million metric tons in 2008 (142nd in the world) and 2.90 million metric tons in 2009.
Current Operations
In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, the African Development Bank was involved in numerous operations in Mauritania, with much of the funding dedicated to industry and mining projects. Priorities for these projects included consolidating macroeconomic stability, fostering economic growth that will benefit the poor, expanding basic services, developing human resources, and improving governance and capacity building. Priorities for infrastructure development included increasing access to clean drinking water and sanitation services, transportation, and electricity, particularly for the rural population. In 2024, the bank agreed to finance two solar-power projects in the nation at a cost of US$289.5 million.
Bibliography
African Development Bank Group. “Mauritania: Results-Based Country Strategy. Paper (RBCSP) 2011–2015.” www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/Mauritania-RBCSP%202011-2015x.pdf.
“Energy: Mauritania Bounces Back.” African Business, no. 342 (2008).
"Mauritania." CIA World Factbook, 30 July 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mauritania/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
"Mauritania - Country Commercial Guide." International Trade Administration, 5 Dec. 2023, www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/mauritania-oil-and-gas. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
Mauritania Energy Policy, Laws and Regulation Handbook. Washington, DC: International Business Publications, 2008.
"Mauritania: Over $289 Million in Financing to Develop Solar Power Generation And Transmission and Accelerate Energy Transition." African Development Bank, 26 Jan. 2024, www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/mauritania-over-289-million-financing-develop-solar-power-generation-and-transmission-and-accelerate-energy-transition-68190. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.