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AfrElec GAS-FIRED GENERATION AfrElec
Mozambique LNG on hold after COVID-19 outbreak
MOZAMBIQUE
CONSTRUCTION has been halted at the Totalled Mozambique LNG project following an outbreak 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 supercooled 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. Its partners are Japan’s Mitsui 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% respec- tively, and Thailand’s PTTEP with 8.5%.
According to Total, the first COVID-19 case was identified on April 1. Since then, many workers have been tested for the virus, with a “small proportion” showing positive results.
Total and its contractors have “progressively moved to temporarily reduce the number of per- sonnel at the project site in collaboration with the MinistryofHealth,”to“minimisetheriskoffur- ther transmission,” it said.
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, the scale and frequency of attacks by insurgents linked to the Islamic State has risen in the area over the past month.Exx- onMobil recently postponed a final investment decision (FID) on the neighbouring $30bn Rovuma LNG project, in light of the oil price collapse. ™
FUELS
Botswana keen to ensure fuel and energy supplies during lockdown
BOTSWANA
BOTSWANA’S government has pledged to ensure adequate supplies of fuel and energy to the population during the lockdown imposed to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Last week, Lefoko Moagi, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, said at a press briefing that Gab- orone had taken steps to protect the country’s energy security. With respect to petroleum prod- ucts, he said, the government already has filled its own storage facilities with enough to cover 15 days of consumption. It has also worked with Botswana Oil, the national oil company (NOC), to establish additional storage capacity, he said.
Additionally, he said, it has identified back-up suppliers. Botswana has arranged to acquire refined fuels from Mozambique and other coun- tries in the event of an interruption in deliveries from the usual sources, he explained.
At the same time, Moagi told reporters, Gab- orone is keen to ensure a steady supply of elec- tricity to the population. To this end, he said, it
has continued to promote the use of solar power. For example, he said, it has developed guide- lines that allow residential consumers who use solar cells to meet their own needs to sell excess production to Botswana Power Corp. (BPC), the
national electricity provider.
Over time, he said, these measures should
help Botswana reduce its dependence on con- ventional thermal power generation. They also offer economic benefits to the country’s resi- dents, he commented.
The minister went on to say that the govern- ment was monitoring petroleum product prices closely, in light of the bearish factors driving the world oil market. Indeed, he noted, Gaborone cut domestic fuel prices on April 21 to reflect the fall in crude prices.
This move brought the price of diesel down by BWP0.1 ($0.0082) per litre, while gasoline fell by BWP0.13 ($0.011) per litre and paraffin by BWP 0.20 ($0.016) per litre, he said.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 17 30•April•2020