Resumption of gas megaproject: “Positive signs from concessionaires and an expectation”

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Resumption of gas megaproject: “Positive signs from concessionaires and an expectation”

4:24 CAT | 27 May 2022

Image: DW

Mozambican Minister of Economy and Finance Max Tonela said today that he could not promise that the gas mega-project in Cabo Delgado would resume this year, but said there were positive signs from the partners in the venture.

“I cannot say for sure; it depends on the evolution [of the security situation in the region], but there are positive signs from the concessionaires and an expectation taking into account what is happening on the ground and there are frequent visits by the operator,” Max Tonela told Lusa when asked if the TotalEnergies megaproject, suspended a year ago because of attacks in Cabo Delgado, would resume this year.

Speaking to Lusa on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Accra, Minister Tonela said that the first exports from the offshore liquefied natural gas production platform in the Rovuma basin would come in early October.

“The FLNG platform is already in Mozambican waters. It is in the process of being installed and connected to the six underwater production wells. We expect production to start gradually (…) and that the first export operation will take place at the beginning of October this year,” by when the platform will be operating at full capacity, he explained.

According to Tonela, this advance “will already contribute to the increase in [state] revenues, especially from exports”.

Regarding the process interrupted by the terrorist action, the minister said that “there is work taking place with the concessionaires; the government is maintaining permanent contact”.

“We are jointly evaluating the progress of the stabilisation process, the improvement of security conditions. There is a positive reading on the part of the partners,” he said, adding that the government is trying to “create conditions so that both the local populations and the projects can move forward in a safe way as soon as possible”.

“The decision will be taken according to the developments that will occur in these matters in the coming months,” he stressed.

Asked about the financing of the military effort in Cabo Delgado, whose cost of €275 million per year led the Mozambican president to ask for international assistance in March, the minister explained that the government had been working to mobilise resources to ensure that the mission was successfully implemented, insofar as the capacity of the Mozambican forces to act was adapted to the reality of the fight against terrorism.

Mozambique’s onshore LNG project, led by TotalEnergies, was Africa’s largest private investment until it was suspended in March due to armed attacks in Cabo Delgado.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas, but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

Source: Lusa