Mozambique: Gas project works to resume soon – government

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Mozambique: Gas project works to resume soon – government

6:42 CAT | 19 Mar 2021

FILE -For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Mozambique’s minister of mineral resources and energy told Lusa on Thursday that work on the Cabo Delgado gas project, led by oil company Total and suspended due to the proximity of attacks by armed rebels at the end of 2020, will soon resume.

“The conditions are almost ready for the resumption [of construction work],” Max Tonela noted.

“We had a recent discussion, just this week, with the president for Africa of Total, and we agreed that the resumption of work would be publicly announced soon,” he said.

Tonela was speaking to Lusa on the sidelines of laying the first stone of construction of the Chimuara – Alto Molócuè power transmission line, in Zambézia province, central Mozambique.

He said that all efforts are being made for the natural gas project of the consortium led by the French multinational to be carried out on schedule, with production starting in 2024.

“There is also a platform of discussion between Total and the government and one of the matters is the issue of security, not only for the site of deployment in Palma, but to resolve the whole issue of terrorism in Cabo Delgado,” he added.

The minister of mineral resources and energy pointed out that despite the reduction in the level of activity, Total’s project has reached an execution level of 23%, with procurement activities at 63%.

The engineering activities are also running according to the initial plan, as are the offshore activities, 32% of which have been completed, he pointed out.

Lusa tried to obtain clarification from Total but without success.

Currently, the Area 1 project, led by the French oil company, is the largest private investment underway in Africa, valued between €20 billion and €25 billion.

The armed violence in Cabo Delgado is causing a humanitarian crisis with more than 2,000 deaths, and 670,000 people displaced, without housing or food.

Some of the incursions have been claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State between June 2019 and November 2020, but the origin of the attacks remains under debate.

Source: Lusa