Anadarko-led gas block FID expected in April – Mithá

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Anadarko-led gas block FID expected in April – Mithá

9:05 CAT | 17 Mar 2019

File photo: Folha de Maputo

The Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is expected in April to take its Final Investment Decision for the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) factory on the Afungi Peninsula in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

Until now, it was known that the decision was due in the first half of this year. However, speaking at the annual private sector conference (CASP) in Maputo, the chairperson of Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH), Omar Mitha, revealed that the decision could be taken next month.

According to Mitha, the investment could be approved in April which would accelerate the construction of local infrastructure such as access roads and airstrips. He stressed that the construction of the gas platforms has already begun abroad and that this will drive the installation of local infrastructure. Thus, he appealed to Mozambican businesses to be prepared for an avalanche of requests for services.

Anadarko is the operator for Offshore Area One which is estimated to hold 75 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. To monetise the gas, Anadarko will pipe it to Palma in the north of Cabo Delgado province where it will be liquefied and shipped to clients worldwide. The project will be Mozambique’s first onshore LNG development with the capacity to produce 12.88 million tonnes of LNG per year. Anadarko intends to expand the project in stages up to a maximum of 50 million tonnes a year.

Anadarko holds a 26.5 per cent working interest in the project. Its partners are ENH (15 per cent), the Japanese company Mitsui (20 per cent), the Indian companies ONGC Videsh Ltd, Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Ltd and BPRL Ventures Mozambique (with 10 per cent each), and PTTEP of Thailand (8.5 per cent).

Mitha also revealed that in the neighbouring block, Offshore Area Four, the Italian company ENI is expected to take its final investment decision on developing an LNG factory, also in Afungi, in July. ENI holds a 25 per cent stake in the project, with its partners being the US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil (25 per cent), China National Petroleum Corporation (20 per cent), Kogas of South Korea (10 per cent), Galp Energia of Portugal (10 per cent), and ENH (10 per cent). This project will be led by ExxonMobil and will be larger than Anadarko’s, producing 15.2 million tonnes of LNG per annum.

Anadarko’s LNG project could begin operating in 2024 with ENI’s plant commencing exports shortly afterwards.

The CASP business meeting is a two-day event organised by the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA) in partnership with the government. This year it is being held under the motto, “improving the business environment, in order to speed up economic recovery, with agribusiness as the accelerating factor”.

Source: AIM