Victoria Oil & gas has added three new thermal customers to its gas network in the industrialised Douala region of Cameroon, adding another 0.7 million cf per day of demand. The connections include the new Dangote cement clinker plant located on the southern shore of the Wouri River, Douala.
The construction of the 1.5 million tonnes per year clinker cement plant by Dangote is a reflection of the significant commercial growth occurring in the port-city, Douala, which is a major regional manufacturing and trade hub, with seaborne access and developed infrastructure.
The other new customers include New Foods, a food processing business owned by major conglomerate the Fokou Group, and Société Industrielle Camerounaise des Cacaos, a subsidiary of Barry Callebaut, a Swiss-owned chocolate group and one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa, which now accounts for 25 per cent of total Cameroon production. Both of these new customers converted their operations from heavy fuel oil to natural gas.
VOG’s gas, which comes from its Logbaba gas-condensate field, offers heavy end-users a more reliable, cheaper and cleaner source of energy than the alternatives, such as expensive heavy fuel oil or seasonal hydroelectricity. It now pipes gas to industrial customers and has also delivered on a 50 MW gas-to-power deal with local partners.
These new customer conversions mean that in May VOG’s gas production tallied 12.4 million cf/d, triple the level in February, with a peak daily rate of 16.2 million cf/d. Average daily gas consumption for the first five days of June was 16 million cf/d. The company is confident it will exceed its 10.5 million cf/d target for 2015.
Kevin Foo, executive chairman, said the new customers were “confirmation that industries will expand their operations when they can be guaranteed consistent supply of energy without the need for storage or transportation”. He added that gas supply to the Bassa and Logbaba power stations is steady.
The company is now focussing on additional customers in the Bonaberi industrial area across the Wouri River. An exciting year ahead.