Page 13 - GLNG Week 34

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Total to work with Mozambican

government on security

PROJECTS & FRANCE’S Total has entered into a security pact been killed by the insurgents. In July, gunmen
COMPANIES with Mozambique’s government to help protect ambushed and killed eight employees of a pri-
its $20bn Mozambique LNG venture. The move vate construction firm working on Mozambique
comes weeks after a key port near the project LNG. And earlier this month, militants seized a
was captured by Islamic militants. The major heavily defended port in Mocimboa da Praia
has signed a memorandum of understand- after five days of intense fighting. Total and its
ing (MoU) with the government on forming a partners have been using Mocimboa da Praia as
joint task force to ensure the safety of activities a hub for logistics.
at Mozambique LNG. The project’s consortium The government is understood to be plan-
will provide the force with logistical support. ning an assault to retake the port.
“This memorandum ... reinforces security Mozambique LNG is due on stream in 2024
measures and endeavours to create a safe oper- and will produce 13.1mn tonnes per year (tpy)
ating environment for partners such as Total, of super-cooled gas at its peak. The Golfinho and
allowing for their continued investment in the Atum gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 conces-
Mozambican industry,” the government said in sion serve as its resource base.
a statement on August 24. Equity in the Mozambique LNG consortium
Militants with suspected links to Islamic State is split between Total with 26.5%, Japan’s Mitsui
have been battling government forces in north- and JOGMEC with 20%, India’s Bharat Petro-
ern Mozambique, where several major LNG leum with 15%, India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL)
export projects are under development. Attacks and Oil India with a further 10%, Mozambique’s
have become more frequent over the past year. national oil company ENH with 10% and Thai-
To date, more than 1,000 people have land’s PTTEP with 8.5%.™

AMERICAS

Mexico says Sempra must build second

gas export facility to secure permit

PROJECTS & THE Mexican government has reportedly asked the Mexican government reportedly wants the
COMPANIES IEnova, the local unit of US-based Sempra company to build would be a greenfield facility
Energy, to build another export facility as well at the Port of Topolobampo, in Sinaloa.
as the Energía Costa Azul LNG facility to help San Diego-based Sempra has said that its
sell off excess natural gas. Three sources familiar Mexican unit IEnova is close to being granted
with the matter told Reuters last week that Mexi- the export permit for Energia Costa Azul. In
can authorities had made this plan a prerequisite March, the company said it intended to go ahead
for authorising Energía Costa Azul LNG permis- with the Costa Azul LNG project despite coro-
sion to export gas. They stated that the govern- navirus (COVID-19) concerns, and added that
ment had set this condition because it was keen it might be able to make its first LNG deliveries
to unload surplus gas capacity before permitting in 2023. Even so, it was not able to make a final
the launch of LNG exports. investment decision (FID) on the scheme in the
No further details were available, though the first quarter of this year, as previously scheduled.
sources stressed the sensitive nature of negoti- IEnova’s gas export facility will be built in
ations between IEnova and the Mexican gov- multiple phases. Its first phase will be able to turn
ernment. If the Sempra subsidiary obtains the out 2.4mn tonnes per year of LNG, and produc-
export permit, it will be the first private company tion capacity may eventually rise to 12mn tpy.
to do so in Mexico. Sempra has already struck non-binding LNG
IEnova is looking to build a new gas liquefac- supply agreements with Total (France), Mitsui &
tion facility on the basis of its existing regasifi- Co. (Japan) and Tokyo Gas Co. (Japan), each of
cation terminal near the north-western port of which has signed a 20-year agreement to buy
Ensenada in Baja California. The import facility around 800,000 tpy of LNG from Energía Costa
became operational in 2008 and is capable of Azul LNG. These three agreements will allow
regasifying up to 1bn cubic feet (28.32mn cubic Sempra to export 100% of output from the plant’s
metres) per day of gas. The second export facility first phase.™

Week 34 28•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13