Government pledges scrupulous inspection of gas production in the Rovuma – Carta

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Government pledges scrupulous inspection of gas production in the Rovuma – Carta

2:17 CAT | 21 Apr 2022

Photo: A Verdade

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, said in parliament this Wednesday (20-4) that the government would scrupulously supervise the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Rovuma Basin, with emphasis on the floating Coral Sul Project platform (FLNG), which has the particularity of being implemented on the high seas, 200 km from Pemba, capital of Cabo Delgado.

The start of Coral Sul production is scheduled for June and, practically on the eve of this, the Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM) parliamentary bench wanted to know from the executive to what extent, given its lack of resources, it was prepared to supervise the productive activity of the project, thereby guaranteeing revenue collection for the state.

The new strong man in the mineral resources and energy sector assured the deputies that conditions to supervise the project were in place, and that in fact regular inspections of the project had already taken place.

“The Government carries out, through the competent authorities of the sector, supervision and regular inspections through monthly and quarterly reports of production activity. [With the start of production] specialised teams will be regularly sent to the FLNG platform to supervise all activities. This prerogative is enshrined in the Petroleum Law, Regulations and Contracts that bind the parties,” Zacarias said.

During the government questions and answers session in the Assembly of the Republic, the minister also addressed the local content of the gas project. In the floating platform’s installation phase, 82 Mozambican workers are on board and had been trained. He also recalled that, in terms of costs, around US$7 billion was invested, of which around 95% had already been spent.

Revenue of US$20 billion from taxes and other costs is foreseen over the lifetime of the project.

The Coral Sul FLNG platform was built by Area 4 concessionaires Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV) with a 70% stake, and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), Galp Energy and Kogas with 10% each.

The infrastructure, a complex composition that includes 12 surface modules, is 432 metres long and 66 metres wide, and weighs more than 200 thousand tons. It will produce and liquefy 3.37 million tons of natural gas from the Coral Sul reservoir per year.

By Evaristo Chilingue

Source: Carta de Moçambique