Page 9 - GLNG Week 38 2022

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Mozambique expects TotalEnergies

to commit to Mozambique LNG

restart by March 2023

LNG-TO-POWER MAX Tonela, the finance minister of Mozam- the short term, Tonela said that he was “not so
bique, said on September 16 that he expected optimistic” and added that it was “not so easy to
TotalEnergies (France) to commit to resuming assume” that the US super-major might take this
work on a major natural gas and LNG project by step next year either.
the end of the first quarter of 2023. Jos Evens, the chairman and general manager
In an interview with Bloomberg, Tonela of ExxonMobil Mozambique, said at the confer-
described himself as “very optimistic” that ence in Maputo earlier in September that the
TotalEnergies would be ready to make a deci- timing of his company’s FID would depend on
sion in favour of restarting the Mozambique security conditions in the region. ExxonMobil
LNG project by the end of March. The scheme is continuing to monitor the situation in Cabo
will then have been on hold for two years, as the Delgado, he stated, without elaborating.
French company declared force majeure follow- The Cabo Delgado province has been expe-
ing a series of attacks by the Islamist separatist riencing attacks by ASWJ forces since 2017,
group Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamo (ASWJ) in March and in early 2021 the group, which has ties to
2021. Islamic State (Daesh), was targeting locations
TotalEnergies representatives have made near TotalEnergies’ onshore construction site
clear that the company will resume work on on the Afungi Peninsula. Subsequently, Maputo
Mozambique LNG only if security conditions began working with the Southern African
in the Cabo Delgado region have improved suf- Development Community (SADC), a regional
ficiently, the finance minister said. The govern- organisation, and the government of Rwanda to
ment believes it has now satisfied this condition counter the militants. They have racked up some
but is waiting for the French major to act, he successes, but sporadic attacks have continued.
stated. TotalEnergies and its partners are aiming
“What Total has required is a long-term secu- to extract gas from Area 1, which lies offshore
rity assurance ... Of course, they have to analyse Mozambique within the Rovuma basin. They
and take a decision on their own,” Tonela added. will process the gas at an LNG plant and onshore
He did not say whether Mozambique’s gov- complex on the Afungi Peninsula. This facility
ernment had received any indications from will eventually have two production trains, each
TotalEnergies about its plans. Bloomberg noted, with a capacity of 6.44mn tonnes per year (tpy).
though, that Stephane Le Galles, the French The French major serves as operator of the
giant’s director for the LNG project, had said at a Mozambique LNG consortium through its sub-
conference in Maputo earlier in September that sidiary Total E&P Mozambique Area 1, which
“the direction is good” with respect to the res- holds a 26.5% stake. The remaining equity in the
toration of government control over, and public consortium is split between two Japanese com-
services in, Cabo Delgado. panies, Mitsui and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals
The news agency also quoted the finance National Corp. (JOGMEC), which have a com-
minister as saying that he was less certain about bined stake of 20%; Mozambique’s national oil
the potential for forward movement on Rovuma company (NOC) ENH, with 15%; BPCL, with
LNG, another large-scale gas and LNG project 10%; ONGC Videsh (India), with 10%; Beas
targeting reserves in an offshore section of the Rovuma Energy Mozambique (a 60:40 joint
Rovuma basin. When asked whether ExxonMo- venture between ONGC Videsh and Oil India
bil, the leader of the Rovuma LNG consortium, Ltd, or OIL), with 10%; and PTTEP (Thailand),
might take a final investment decision (FID) in with 8.5%.™

Week 38 23•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9