Page 6 - GLNG Week 16

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Mozambique LNG on hold after COVID-19 outbreak
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
CONSTRUCTION has been halted at the Total- led Mozambique LNG project following an out- break of coronavirus (COVID-19).
There are 41 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mozambique as of April 22, the government esti- mates. The bulk of them have been traced back to the onshore liquefaction plant.
“It’s difficult to predict how the situation will evolve,” Total told Agence France-Presse last week, noting that up until now work had been proceeding on schedule. “At the project site we are focused on critical activity, including secu- rity, logistics and forward planning.”
The $20bn project in northern Mozambique is due to come on stream by 2024. It will produce almost 13mn tonnes per year (tpy) of super- cooled gas at peak capacity, using the Golfinho and Atum gas fields in the offshore Rovuma Basin as its resource base.
Total operates Mozambique LNG with a 26.5% stake, while its partners are Japan’s Mit- sui E&P with 20%, India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and BPRL Ventures Mozambique, each with 10%, local players ENH Rovuma and Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique, with 15% and 10% respectively, and Thailand’s PTTEP with 8.5%.
According to Total, the first COVID-19 case was identified on April 1 and since then a large number of workers have been tested for the virus. A “small proportion” tested positive. Total and its contractors have “progressively moved to temporarily reduce the number of personnel at the project site in collaboration with the Minis- try of Health,” to “minimise the risk of further transmission.”
Total and its partners have also assisted Mozambique in upgrading local medical facili- ties in the province, providing personal protec- tive equipment, ventilators and test kits.
The outbreak comes as a further setback for Mozambique LNG. Adding risk to the project and others nearby, there has been an increase in the scale and frequency of attacks by insurgents linked to the Islamic State in the area over the past month.
ExxonMobil recently postponed a final investment decision (FID) at the neighbouring $30bn Rovuma LNG project, in light of the oil price collapse.™
NCDMB touts Project 100 programme to NLNG
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
THE Nigerian Content Development Monitor- ing Board (NCDMB) has asked the four-mem- ber Nigeria LNG (NLNG) consortium to look to participants in its Project 100 programme as it seeks local contractors to assist in the expansion of its seventh production train.
In a statement, NCDMB said that its execu- tive secretary, Sembi Kesiya Wabote, had touted Project 100 in a recent letter to Tony Attah, the managing director of NLNG. In the letter, Wabote included a list of the Nigerian companies that are participating in the programme. The list
described the track records of all 100 firms, as well as the range of services offered to support oil and gas operations.
“The areas of competencies of the Project 100 beneficiaries include exploration, subsur- face and seismic services, fabrication and con- struction, FEED, detailed and other engineering services, marine services and operations and inspection, testing and certification,” the state- ment said. “Other key areas of competencies are inspection, hookup and commissioning, mate- rial and procurement, project management and
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