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Informação de Moçambique (AIM). on ensuring all contractors meet all legal and
Moreover, it said, TechnipFMC, Mozambique contractual obligations and take appropriate
LNG’s main contractor, will still share the French steps to support and develop local businesses
major’s facilities in Pemba. (The port is owned by and the local workforce, while also advanc-
CFM, the national rail and port company.) ing the project on time and within budget,” it
Total also indicated, however, that Mayotte commented.
might play a role in the project. It told AIM Questions about Total’s plans are probably
that it was “investigating options to carry [out] related to the recent uptick in civil unrest within
some offshore support operations in the region Cabo Delgado. Since 2017, many villages in the
to optimise part of its logistical chain and plan- province have come under attack from Ahlu
ning, including in Mayotte, by using existing Sunnah Wa-Jamo (ASWJ), an Islamist group
infrastructure.” that has links to the Islamic State (Daesh).
Additionally, it stressed that it remained Mozambique’s armed forces have tried to repel
committed to its local content pledges, which ASWJ and thwart its efforts to gain control of
call for awarding $2.5bn worth of contracts to Cabo Delgado, but they have not been entirely
companies that are owned by Mozambicans successful. Some of the attacks have occurred
or registered in Mozambique. “Our contrac- in places very close to Mozambique LNG’s con-
tors have a central role in this, and our focus is struction site.™

Equinor takes $982mn

write-down at TLNG

INVESTMENT NORWAY’S Equinor has taken a $982mn write-
down charge at its long-delayed Tanzania LNG
(TLNG) project after judging it to be uncompet-
itive, the company reported on January 29.
Equinor has been trying to get TLNG off
the ground for years, but has been unable to
do because of regulatory delays and difficulties
agreeing investment terms with the Tanzanian
government.
“While progress has been made in recent
years on the commercial framework for TLNG,
overall project economies have not yet improved
sufficiently to justify keeping it on the balance
sheet,” Equinor explained. “The TLNG project
has an anticipated breakeven price well above the
portfolio average for Equinor and is, at this time,
not competitive within this portfolio.”
The write-down will be counted in Equinor’s
fourth-quarter results. The company said it
would continue negotiations with Tanzania,
holding out hope that commercial, fiscal and position. ExxonMobil, its partner, holds the
legal terms can be worked out that would make remaining interest but is yet to book a write-
the project viable. Tanzania’s The Citizen news- down charge.
paper reported in December that talks between The TLNG finds are situated 100 km offshore
Equinor and the government had resumed after in waters 2,500 metres deep. Equinor has com-
a year-long delay. plained in the past of “large underwater canyons”
Equinor’s journey in Tanzania began in 2007, that make offshore work challenging. The plan is
when it signed a production-sharing agreement to run a subsea pipeline from the discoveries to
(PSA) to develop the offshore Block 2. It began onshore facilities north of Lindi. The bulk of the
drilling in 2011 and to date has made nine gas gas would be liquefied and exported, but 10%
discoveries containing 20 trillion cubic feet would also be supplied to the domestic market.
(566bn cubic metres) of gas. The company wants Equinor’s investments in Tanzania have
to use this resource to underpin a 7.5mn tonne exceeded $2bn. The company revealed in its
per year (tpy) LNG export terminal. 2019 annual report that its licence for the area
Equinor operates the project with a 65% had expired, but talks continued.™

Week 05 05•February•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11