Mozambique: LNG development plan submitted to government – AIM report

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: LNG development plan submitted to government – AIM report

9:11 CAT | 10 Jul 2018

File photo

The Italian energy company ENI announced on Tuesday that it has submitted a development plan to the Mozambican government for the first phase of the LNG project to produce, liquefy, and market natural gas from the Mamba fields in Area Four of the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

ENI is the operator in the concession and will lead the construction and operation of upstream facilities. However, its partner US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil will lead the construction and operation of the natural gas liquefaction facilities on behalf of the joint venture.

ENI’s subsidiary ENI-East Africa holds a 25 per cent stake in the Mozambique Rovuma Venture, as does ExxonMobil. The other partners in the consortium are China National Petroleum Corporation, which holds a 20 per cent share, while Kogas of South Korea, Galp Energia of Portugal and Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH), each have a ten per cent stake.

The plan submitted to the government proposes two LNG factories (known as trains) that will each produce 7.6 million tonnes of LNG per year. This will be larger than the LNG project proposed by Anadarko and its partners in neighbouring Area One, which envisages two trains each producing six million tonnes of LNG per annum.

The consortium intends to make its final investment decision next year and expects to begin production in 2024. ENI’s Stefano Maione pointed out that “the Rovuma LNG Project is moving forward swiftly. The size of the project makes it not only an important investment in the country but also supports economic growth and opens new opportunities for Mozambicans”. According to ENI, “every effort will be made to actively build the local workforce and supplier capabilities in Mozambique”.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil’s Liam Mallon expressed his enthusiasm for the development, commenting “we are excited to be progressing the Rovuma LNG project, working with the government and leveraging the expertise and capabilities of all of the partners”.

Out of the two consortiums operating off the Cabo Delgado coast, Area Four’s Mozambique Rovuma Venture will be first to market LNG. ENI announced in May last year its final investment decision for the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in Area Four. The FLNG platform is to start production in 2022, with a capacity of 3.4 million tonnes of LNG a year. Under an agreement reached in 2016, all the LNG produced at the floating platform will be sold to British Petroleum (BP).

The discoveries in the deep waters of Area Four, about 40 kilometres off the coast, contain an estimated 85 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. ENI believes that Mozambique is “well positioned to supply LNG customers around the world for the next 40 years and beyond”.