Tsimirororo oil fields: Madagascar Oil launches heavy oil test sales

“Today, Madagascar enters the club of oil producing countries,” spoke the President of the Republic in Tsimiroro. Hery Rajaonarimampianina attaches relevance to “the solidarity and the fair sharing pattern of national wealth such as oil fields among the population.” The State equally encourages the private sector’s consented efforts focused in this energetic challenge. “Energy for all, is what we are aiming at, for this is the only viable way to develop the country,” added the president.

The extraction of heavy oil from the available deposits in Tsimiroro proved to be regular enough to let the MADAGASCAR OIL company to officially dare a step on the market. Still, this step comes up to a way to probe alien ground and make sure whether the production matches international requirements. One of the first lab client will be the JIRAMA. The water and electricity supply company will be provided with fuel to run its thermal stations. The tender will be open to every industry with significant need for energy and enough capacity to produce electricity.

Following the investment of 700 billion Ariary and the construction of 130 boreholes, the oil extraction company reached an important milestone when its continuous steam injection technique proved efficient. The highest daily production rate reaches 650 barrels, though a mere 400 barrels a day will be introduced into the marketing test over a period of six months, namely between 50,000 and 70,000 barrels to deliver in all. The oil company is already running on its own production to power machines up and inject steam in boreholes. About 85,000 barrels are available to this end.

This test sale will unravel the State’s capability of create, run, maintain and protect transportation infrastructure for the fuel from Tsimiroro. The maintenance work on the Tsiroanomandindy axis has already been tackled. Furthermore, the very heavy oils produced by Tsimiroro could be used to turn asphalt on. MADAGASCAR OIL also has to see to it that its own diesel supplies keep flowing in a regular way. In effect, the company will deliver 85% of heavy oil extracted from Tsimiroro mixed up with 15% of gas oil to make the fuel easier to use and transport.

The hindrances to fair energy development in Madagascar are always the same, namely low hydropower production, addiction to expensive thermal energy production, fluctuating oil prices, logistics costs, as well as a low population density which makes it harder to extend the supply network nationwide, and to a certain extend the island’s very isolation, which makes interconnection with the neighboring countries’ networks impossible.

A deal between stakeholders and partners has agreed on the making of the development of hydropower a priority for the sake of a lower cost development. Tsimiroro is therefore not the single available solution for electrical energy supply, but rather a glow of hope for motorists if technical and commercial conditions at the Toamasina refinery controlled by another oil company are met.