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A bill announcing new sanctions is making its and state banks have agreed to lend to Total’s
way through US Congress, but both Germany Mozambique LNG project.
and the EU have said they will consider counter- Four Japanese private banks – MUFG Bank,
ing US actions with measures of their own. Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and
Russian producers are banding together to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank – will provide
share technology and expertise to develop hard- most of the debt funding for the project, and
to-recover oil, which is anticipated to account the state-owned Japan Bank for International
for an increasing share of the country’s output Cooperation (JBIC) will supply $3bn in loans.
over the coming decades. Gazprom Neft has just The African Development Bank (AfDB) will also
signed a deal with Zarubezhneft on joint extrac- support the project, the report said. The report in
tion of hard-to-recover reserves in Western Sibe- the Nikkei indicated that the money would sup-
ria, less than a week after announcing a similar port Total’s Mozambique LNG project, in which
partnership with Lukoil and Tatneft for projects Mitsui and JOGMEC together hold a 20% stake.
in the Volga-Urals area. Japan’s confirmation of the involvement of
Elsewhere, Uzbekistan is pushing ahead with its commercial banks as well as the state-owned
the revamp of its refining sector, hiring South JBIC is a good sign that Total will be able to
Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction to secure all its financing by the end of 2020.
undertake front-end engineering design (FEED) In June, Total said it had reached an agree-
work for a $500mn upgrade of the Bukhara oil ment with a group that included 20 lenders for
refinery. Last month work also commenced on a the first phase of senior debt funding of $14.4bn.
similar project at the Ferghana refinery, Uzbeki- Other banks named included Standard Bank
stan’s other main oil processing plant. Group, Societe Generale and Rand Merchant
Tashkent’s goal is to produce more vehicle Bank.
and jet fuels, of higher quality, to help reduce As well as Total’s $20bn Mozambique LNG
its imports and make fuel shortages a thing of project, which aims to produce 12mn tpy of
the past. But the unanswered question is how LNG, ExxonMobil is developing the 7.6mn tpy
Uzbekistan will procure enough crude to run its Rovuma project in the African country. How-
refineries at full capacity. ever, only Total is close to FID, with Exxon delay-
ing any decision until 2021.
If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping Even though Japan’s LNG imports fell by
the former Soviet Union’s oil and gas sector then 8.8% y/y in April to 5.13mn tonnes, because of
please click here for NewsBase’s FSU Monitor . the impact of COVID-19, LNG imports are of
long-term strategic importance to the country’s
Japan invests big in African LNG energy sector.
Japan has announced a $14.4bn investment drive
by some of the country’s leading energy develop- If you’d like to read more about the key events shaping
ers and financiers in Mozambique’s LNG poten- the global LNG sector then please click here for
tial, strongly suggesting that a group of private NewsBase’s GLNG Monitor.

Week 27 09•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9