While the floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) of the GrandTortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project has been leaving the shipyards of Qidong (China) since the end of January for a course towards the coasts Mauritano-Senegalese where it should begin the extraction of gas at the end of the year, under the supervision of Golar and Technip, the two countries multiplying the maneuvers to generate the maximum of diffusion on the local content.
If Senegal very quickly put in place a legal framework and quantified the market relating to local content (5,000 billion FCFA), on the Mauritanian side, the system would benefit from being clarified to prevent possible conflicts between the State and multinationals. . For example, the British BP, leader in the exploitation of the said field, recently saw its “land transportation” call for tenders canceled by the Mauritanian authorities. Usually discreet on the gas issue, Nouakchott did not give explanations through the appropriate channels. The Mauritanian Hydrocarbons Company (SMH) also did not comment on what appears to be a clarification.
In the business circles of the two countries, it is whispered that the local content as it is established rather favors the multinationals. These launch calls for tenders often based on the price argument – the technical capacity being reduced – which, on arrival, forces the bidding companies to engage in a price war which pushes the services and the safety down. We remember in May 2021 the accident of Eiffage trucks in charge of the construction of an installation for the oil company BP as part of the GTA project and which cost lives. For its part, the gold company Kinross, which operates the Tasiast mine, would also be a follower of the “cheap prices” system based much more on the argument of the “lowest bidder” than on standards and the safety of people and installations. Moreover, nowadays, local companies are no longer in a hurry to participate in Kinross tenders.
Admittedly, by forcing their suppliers to “cut” prices, by squeezing local companies, multinationals gain according to a short-term logic, but in the end, it is a loss of earnings for the State (tax on companies) and for the local private sector constantly forced to adjust its prices downwards to do odds and ends potentially detrimental to safety and standards. The leveling down thus created, at the antipodes of international standards, does not allow the transfer of skills or the development of a *strong private ecosystem*. The delay in the delivery of the supply base, initially planned for the end of January 2023, clearly shows that if you want to win too much in the short term, you lose time and money.
