Altaaqa Global (ATG) has demonstrated the viability of its solutions to West Africa – a principal growth region for the company – with landmark achievements in 2022
ATG, a pioneering international energy services business providing cost-effective integrated power solutions, project consultancy and advisory services, has made a point of actively expanding its footprint in West Africa over the last few years. It is a policy born out of capitalising on the resource-rich region and helping those operating there to exploit the opportunities which are readily-available.
Speaking to African Review on why the company fits so well into the region, Abdou Poulho Sow, sales director for West Africa and Central Africa at ATG, explained, “In general, the current low electricity coverage in West Africa offers huge opportunities for power solutions companies. However, what keeps us above our competitors is that we are strategically positioned across the energy mix through our capability and expertise to provide the latest energy production solutions that can cover the gap in the energy demand and requirement in West Africa.”
This year, ATG has unveiled two landmark projects which have served to highlight this point.
First fire for 20MW power plant
The first achievement came as ATG achieved commercial operation for a 20MW natural gas power plant in the region. The project manager for the client, a major refining company, said that the units they had were not very efficient and did not fully meet environmental requirements. However, ATG’s modular power plant was less expensive, permanently available and met the efficiency and environmental requirements put in place.
In regards to the project, Sow commented, “The utilisation of state-of-the-art equipment, along with the expertise of our team in ensuring the continuous operation of the power plant and the delivery of uninterrupted power supply to the refinery, have resulted in and will continue to provide huge savings and cost-efficiencies to the refinery. Simply put, the huge costs from any power disruptions are avoided.
“In addition, the power supply provided by the power plant frees up the power demand of the refinery from the grid, which would then provide the much-needed power for other purposes that would further benefit the local community and economy.”
On some of the challenges with implementing such a project, he remarked, “As the power plant is located inside the refinery, it is imperative that its operations and maintenance adheres to the strictest compliance and observance of all safety procedures and regulations, while seeing to it that the power plant is running 24/7. Thanks to the expertise of our team and their proactive approach at ensuring the safe operations of the power plant, we have successfully managed to fulfil and deliver on the requirements of the project.
“Gas remains an important element in West Africa’s future energy mix as it will help in keeping the cost of electricity low. This is the reason why current discussions are focused on utilising gas sources within West Africa itself and how to distribute this across the region using Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) and virtual pipeline solutions.”
BOOT provides utility boost
The company also declared that it has won a 60-month, 50MW buildown-operate-transfer (BOOT) project in the region.
According to ATG, the BOOT model provides customers with the peace of mind that it will take care of everything while delivering the financial performance and engineering expertise that the company is known for.
It allows for the transfer of ownership of the asset at the end of the contract, requiring no upfront or balloon payment. This method “addresses a major gap in the energy industry,” according to, Mahmoud El-Zaafarany, general manager of ATG. “This win is a testament to the attractiveness of our BOOT solutions to utility providers looking to own a profitable and well-managed asset.”
Sow concluded, “Our solutions are designed to address the power needs of a wide range of industries. Through various arrangements such as a BOOT model, not only do we ensure that their power needs are properly addressed, but that we do so with the added value of cost-efficiency and reliability. In the case of West Africa in particular, it can be within the utilities, oil & gas, manufacturing and mining sectors.”
