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The project is also designed to reduce fuel investments.
consumption through the installation of an Lastly, it will decrease the seawater pollution
energy management system and a vapour risk and reduce water usage through the installa-
recovery unit among other energy efficiency tion of a waste water treatment unit. ™

India green-lights Bharat Petroleum’s

Mozambique LNG plans, but with a caveat

MOZAMBIQUE
INDIA’S government has reportedly authorised team up with other state-run Indian firms such
a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) as ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) in order to share
subsidiary to proceed with investment in the the risk involved in a larger stake, they added.
Mozambique LNG project, despite lingering
questions about the company’s decision to Questions about Videocon
buy a stake of less than 20% in the French-led Indian authorities appear to have reservations
consortium. about the role Videocon, an Indian manufac-
Sources told PTI last week that New Delhi turer of televisions and other durable consumer
had given Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL), goods with no experience in the oil and gas sec-
the upstream affiliate of BPCL, a green light to tor, has played in the Mozambique project.
move forward with the project, which calls for When BPRL opted to buy only half of the
extracting natural gas from Area 1, located off- 20% stake offered by Anadarko in 2008, Vid-
shore Mozambique, and using it as feedstock eocon bought the other 10% and then sold the
for an LNG plant. As a result, they said, BPRL stake on to OVL for $2.475bn in 2013. (OVL
is now clear to contribute its share of funding to later sold 4% to state-owned Oil India Ltd, or
Mozambique LNG, which is expected to carry a OIL.) Videocon also agreed to team up with
price tag of $24bn. BPRL to buy into a Brazilian project led by
They also noted, though, that India’s Central EnCana (Canada) around the same time.
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) intended to look Both moves led observers to express con-
into alleged irregularities in BPRL’s acquisition cerns about the ties between BPRL and Vid-
of its 10% stake in the consortium in 2008. The eocon. With respect to Mozambique LNG,
bureau will examine the question of why the industry analysts pointed out that OVL might
company did not accept an offer from Anadarko not have had to pay so much for its stake if it had
Petroleum (US) to buy 20%, they said. CBI offi- been allowed to join the project earlier, when
cials also want to determine why BPRL did not global oil and gas prices were lower.

Mozambique LNG will develop and process gas from Area 1 (Image: Total)

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 07•October•2020