Page 17 - AfrOil Week 48 2020

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

The original resource-sharing agreement was signed in 2015 (Image: Anadarko)

ExxonMobil, Total in discussions on

Mozambique resource-sharing deal

MOZAMBIQUE EXXONMOBIL and Total are reportedly in base is Area 4, estimated to contain over 2.4 tril-
talks over how to divide up gas resources from a lion cubic metres of gas.
field that straddles their respective LNG devel- Total and its partners already took an FID on
opments off the coast of Mozambique. the $20bn Mozambique LNG last year, and over
ExxonMobil is leading a consortium that the summer secured nearly $15bn in external
is developing the Rovuma LNG project off the financing for the initiative.
southern African country, while Total is in That project will produce up to 13.1mn tpy
charge of the Mozambique LNG venture. Nego- of LNG from the Golfinho and Atum fields in
tiations between the pair over resource-shar- Area 1, thought to hold 2.1 trillion cubic metres
ing also involve Mozambique’s government, of gas. Commercial operations are anticipated
which will have the final say over any settlement to start in 2024.
deal, Reuters reported on November 25 citing The current resource-sharing contract was
sources. signed by Italy’s Eni and Anadarko, which is now
The field in question contains gas that is part of fellow Texas-based producer Occidental
thicker and therefore cheaper to recover and Petroleum. But Eni sold its stake in Rovuma
convert into LNG than the projects’ other LNG to ExxonMobil in 2017, while Anadarko
deposits, according to Reuters. How much each transferred Mozambique LNG to Total last year.
project could extract from the field was settled in At stake are an estimated 680bn cubic metres
a 2015 “unitisation” or resource-sharing agree- of gas straddling the two projects, according to
ment, the news agency said. Reuters. The resources are split evenly under the
However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- 2015 agreement.
demic and the resulting collapse in gas prices “As a matter of practice, we do not comment
this year mean both Exxon and Total are under on third-party rumour of speculation,” Exxon
heightened pressure to cut costs. The pressure told the news agency. “ExxonMobil continues to
is greater for Exxon and its partners, which are actively work with its partners and the govern-
yet to take a final investment decision (FID) ment to optimise development plans by improv-
at Rovuma LNG. The US major had hoped to ing synergies and exploring opportunities
sanction the project this year but has delayed the related to the current lower-cost environment.”
move until 2021. Total, meanwhile, said the operators of the
Rovuma LNG is expected to host two liq- two projects “continue working together to
uefaction trains capable of producing 15.2mn maximise synergies and optimise future phases
tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG in total. Its resource of development.” ™

Week 48 02•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17