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AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

The Mozambique LNG consortium will extract and process gas from Area 1 (Image: TotalEnergies)

Michael Jacobs, an economist who formerly Province. The French major has said it will not
served as special advisor to former British Prime resume construction until it has more confi-
Minister Gordon Brown, disagreed, expressing dence in the security situation, which deterio-
concern about the fairness of trying to prevent rated rapidly earlier this year following a series
Mozambique from developing its own natural of attacks by a separatist Islamist group known
resources. “It’s the responsibility of the devel- as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamo (ASWJ).
oped countries – the richer countries and the For his part, Henri-Max Ndong-Nzue,
advanced economies – to do the maximum” TotalEnergies’s senior vice president for Africa,
with respect to GHG emissions cuts, he told said earlier this week that the security situation
Lusa. “And I think it’s very, very difficult to tell a in Mozambique was “improving” but not stable
really poor country that it simply shouldn’t use enough to restart construction at its two-train
the resources it has.” Mozambique LNG project.
The Mozambique LNG consortium is led by “We are looking at the situation and, so far,
Total E&P Mozambique Area 1, a TotalEnergies the steps taken by the Mozambican govern-
subsidiary that holds a 26.5% stake. The remain- ment are going in the right direction,” he told
ing equity in the project is split between two Jap- S&P Global Platts on the margins of the ongoing
anese companies, Mitsui and Japan Oil, Gas and Africa Oil Week conference on November 9.
Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC), which have a “Things are improving, by what we can see
combined stake of 20%; Mozambique’s national on the ground. The African forces are doing
oil company (NOC) ENH, with 15%; Bharat quite a good job. So things are improving. But
Petroleum (India), with 10%; ONGC Videsh Ltd what is key is to have security in a sustained
(OVL, India), with 10%; Beas Rovuma Energy manner, and that is very important,” Nzue said.
Mozambique (a 60:40 joint venture between The situation has pushed back the start of
ONGC Videsh and Oil India Ltd, or OIL), with first production to at least 2025 from 2024, with
10%; and PTTEP (Thailand), with 8.5%. full production of 13.1mn tonnes per year (tpy)
The partners intend to extract gas from Area not expected to happen before 2026, according
1, which lies offshore Mozambique within the to S&P Global Platts, which also noted that the
Rovuma basin. It will use the gas as feedstock Mozambique LNG project had been 21% com-
for an LNG plant that TotalEnergies has started plete as of end-2020.
building on the Afungi Peninsula. This facility In related news, the European Council on
will eventually have two production trains, each October 15 adopted a decision launching the
with a capacity of 6.44mn tpy. EU Military Training Mission in Mozambique
(EUTM Mozambique) to help the country fight
Security concerns insurgency in the gas-rich northern province of
Work on the $20bn project has been suspended Cabo Delgado.
since late March, when TotalEnergies declared The EU’s two-year mission to train around
force majeure in response to deteriorating secu- 2,000 Mozambican naval and special forces was
rity conditions in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado officially launched on November 3. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 45 10•November•2021