Page 8 - GLNG Week 03 2023

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

London Court dismisses NGO’s attempt to bar

UKEF from funding Mozambique LNG

FINANCE FRIENDS of the Earth, an international envi- saying: “TotalEnergies supports the goals of the
ronmental group, has failed to overturn a lower 2015 Paris Agreement, which calls for reduc-
court ruling green-lighting the UK’s plan to pro- ing greenhouse gas emissions in the context of
vide funding for the Mozambique LNG project. sustainable development and the fight against
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) poverty.”
has been seeking to prevent UK Export Finance Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth took the
(UKEF), the British government’s export credit opposite stance, saying that the group had not
agency, from upholding a pledge to provide up to exhausted its legal remedies and was consider-
$1.15bn in funding for Mozambique LNG. It has ing filing an appeal in the UK Supreme Court.
premised its case on the argument that the pro- In a statement, it quoted Rachel Kennerley, an
ject, led by TotalEnergies (France), contravenes international climate activist affiliated with the
the Paris Agreement on climate change. group, as saying: “This extremely disappointing
But on January 13, London’s Court of Appeal judgment doesn’t alter our firm belief that the
ruled against Friends of the Earth. Judge Geof- UK government should not be supporting the
frey Vos wrote in his decision that UKEF’s Mozambique gas project or any fossil fuel project
determination that Mozambique LNG was at home or abroad.”
compatible with the Paris Agreement was “ten- TotalEnergies is serving as operator of the
able” and further noted that the agency was not Mozambique LNG consortium through its sub-
required to be certain that its decisions about sidiary Total E&P Mozambique Area 1, which
funding dovetailed exactly with the govern- holds a 26.5% stake. The remaining equity in the
ment’s climate-related commitments. consortium is split between two Japanese com-
Furthermore, Vos noted, the Paris Agree- panies, Mitsui and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals
ment was “only one of a range of factors” that National Corp. (JOGMEC), which have a com-
UKEF took into consideration when deciding bined stake of 20%; Mozambique’s national oil
whether to provide financial support to Mozam- company (NOC) ENH, with 15%; BPCL, with
bique LNG, which is likely to carry a price tag of 10%; ONGC Videsh (India), with 10%; Beas
around $20bn. Rovuma Energy Mozambique (a 60:40 joint
UKEF has welcomed the Court of Appeal’s venture between ONGC Videsh and Oil India
ruling. “We remain confident that UK Export Ltd, or OIL), with 10%; and PTTEP (Thailand),
Finance follows robust and internationally with 8.5%.
recognised due diligence before providing any The French major and its partners aim to
support for overseas projects,” an agency spokes- extract gas from Area 1, which lies offshore
person said on January 13. Mozambique within the Rovuma basin. They
For its part, TotalEnergies has responded will process the gas at an LNG plant and onshore
positively and talked up the anticipated benefits complex on the Afungi Peninsula. This facility
of Mozambique LNG. A spokesperson for the will eventually have two production trains, each
French major said on January 13 that the pro- with a capacity of 6.44mn tonnes per year (tpy).
ject was expected to “deliver a range of social Work on the onshore facility was suspended
and economic benefits to Mozambique and is in March 2021 due to the deteriorating security
a key part of Mozambique’s aim to diversify its situation in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s north-
economy.” ernmost province. Conditions have improved
The spokesperson also emphasised the com- since that time, but TotalEnergies has yet to
pany’s strong interest in climate-related issues, resume work at the site.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 03 19•January•2023