Mauritanie Logistique (Maurilog) is a sister company of Maurinvest – a diverse holding company based in Mauritania, founded in 1994 by Mohamed Abdellahi Yaha. The overarching goal of the business is the long-term development of economic interests in Mauritania.
The company has held a long-game view, taking the time to research, plan and execute its goals over time, and as a result has become one of the leaders in the biggest industries of Mauritania.
The economy of Mauritania is dominated by extractive industries such as mining, oil and gas, bolstered by foreign investment. In addition, the country has some of the richest coastal waters in the world, and as a result, fishing is another major industry. Maurinvest has partnered with foreign investors to create local jobs in many of these major sectors.
Creating local jobs for a global market
The company initially launched in 1995 with an exclusive partnership with the Yamaha Corporation. Maurinvest’s distribution of marine motors and products in Mauritania directly served the fishing sector. This helped local fishermen gain access to the equipment necessary to be competitive in the market. After building a successful partnership with Yamaha, the company partnered with the French Saros group, owner of over 50 La Criee restaurants in France, and the Japanese group Hotland, which both serve high-quality meals and seafood to restaurants in French and Japan. Since then the company has expanded with partnerships with Chinese and Moroccan fishing giants, establishing itself further as a reliable international partner, and creating jobs in Mauritania along the way.
As far as it’s concerned, Maurilog’s commitment to local development is notable, with 95% of all positions being held by Mauritanians. They have demonstrated priority to the local workforce and have been rewarded with a very low turnover rate.
Professional expertise
The company’s international strategy took a bold turn in the early 2000’s when DB Shenker, the German logistics company entered Mauritania. In 2001, Mauritanie Logistique was born. Maurilog has grown significantly to provide integrated logistics services to the energy and mining sectors, in addition to oil and gas.
The company has demonstrated itself by progressively widening its scope of services and compliance, offering a 100% local content solution with significant human capital. Maurilog is a leader in compliance in the region, as competing mid-size companies in Africa have yet to develop a process as robust in this area.
Maurilog has a Compliance Department that is dedicated to fostering a better culture of openness and compliance amongst its employees. All employees and consultants are trained on the company’s policies and code of conduct at least once a year, high-risk employees receive a more sensitive and personalized training on these matters.
Maurilog can be presented as a one-stop-shop for transport, logistics and waste management services to the Oil & Gas and mining industry in Mauritania. The core services at the heart of Maurilog’s operations are robust and cover all services needed by operators. Not only do they handle shipping logistics such as customs clearing, direct shipping and freight forwarding, but they also handle personnel logistics, accommodation, catering, offshore bunkering, waste & resource management, coastal services, marine supply base management and more.
The revival of the oil and gas sector
In 2014, following the decline of the oil sector, DB Schenker decided to
withdraw from its Mauritanian subsidiary. However, DB Schenker saw the need
to offer logistics services in Mauritania to its customers and required a reliable local partner. Thus, the subsidiary was sold in its entirety to Mr. Yaha, who had been a business contact with DB Schenker since 2002.
The Mauritanian oil and gas sector decline continued until the country experienced a sudden expansion from the years 2017-2018. Many major oil companies launched significant exploration campaigns at this time, spurring growth and expansion in the sector. This turning point was prompted by two elements: a) major discoveries had been made in similar geological formations off the coast of Guyana and b) technological advances in super-deep offshore techniques made it possible to exploit the potential for vast gas deposits off the coasts of Mauritania and Senegal.
Kosmos Energy was the first oil company to confirm a major discovery with the GTA deposit, straddling the border of Senegal and Mauritania. BP then purchased the majority rights to the GTA deposit from Kosmos and became its operator.
From 2017 to 2020, Maurilog progressively asserted its position as the leading local partner in logistics for major companies active in the oil and gas industry, including those active in the GTA project. This is how Total, Kosmos, BP, Petronas, Haliburton, Shell, Schlumberger, Reservoir Link, CGG, BGP, Baker Hughes, Polarcus, Wartsila, and many more have become regular customers.
To satisfy all of its clients, and offer the same high quality service in other countries, Maurilog created a branch in the Canary Islands, which is a hub for rigs repair, maintenance, and bunkering. Maurilog also created a sister company, Senelog, at the other side of the Mauritanian border, to provide services to customers operating in Senegal.
Maurilog has remained the local partner of DB Schenker throughout, and when BP launched a global tender for logistics, they were able to jointly respond with success.
€15 million in new investments
Maurilog’s other major asset lies in its investments: the company has thus far invested €15 million in new equipment since 2017, to guarantee its customers a very high level of service.
Maurilog has also carried out real estate investments required by clients of the oil sector: hard docks, covered warehouses, secure locations, and more. These investments were financed with the active support of the Société Générale Bank and European leasing companies.
Experienced and specialized staff
In recent years Maurilog invested heavily in its human resources, hiring more than fifteen expatriate collaborators with solid experience in the O&G sector overseas. Many of them came directly from Aberdeen, a leader in oil and gas expertise, to frame a local workforce, which has been largely present since the time of DB Schenker.
Compliance, Safety, and Efficiency
In the face of COVID-19 the company is committed to observing all government guidance on managing the risk of transmission. A risk assessment was conducted and shared with the workforce early on. All employees were tested and SAFETY FIRST protocols were put in place and enhanced QHSE measures are strictly enforced, ensuring the safety of all.