Mozambique: Galp denies that it is to sell off stake in Rovuma LNG project

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Mozambique: Galp denies that it is to sell off stake in Rovuma LNG project

3:15 CAT | 01 Apr 2021

File photo: Lusa

Galp on Thursday denied the sale of its stake in gas exploration projects in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, which it said had been announced through a “false statement”.

“Galp categorically denies the news published this Thursday morning about its alleged exit from natural gas project in Mozambique. This news is based on a false press release to which Galp is unaware,” the oil company said in a statement sent to Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Lusa today reported, based on a false communiqué on behalf of Galp, that the company would sell its stake in new gas exploration projects in Cabo Delgado “due to the climate of instability, terrorist violence and corruption in Mozambique.

Italian oil company Eni and US company ExxonMobil lead the consortium for exploration and natural gas in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin, off the coast of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique.

Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), a joint venture co-owned by ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC (China), which holds a 70% participating interest in the concession contract.

Portugal’s Galp, Kogas (South Korea) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (Mozambique) each have a 10% stake.

At the beginning of March, Exxon postponed for the third consecutive year the Final Investment Decision on the natural gas exploration project in Mozambique, putting the US$30 billion investment in doubt.

According to Bloomberg news agency, which quotes the company’s vice president, Neil Chapman, during a conversation with analysts, there is no forecast on when the investment decision will be made on the natural gas plant in the Rovuma basin, as the oil company needs to secure power supplies from the neighbouring plant, operated by France’s Total.

Source: Lusa