Total eyes Mayotte as possible rear base for Mozambique LNG – report

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Total eyes Mayotte as possible rear base for Mozambique LNG – report

4:00 CAT | 27 Jan 2021

Sky view of Dzaoudzi, along with a part of Pamandzi.[File photo: Wikimedia Commons]

Total is hoping to set up a logistics base in Mayotte for its Mozambican offshore operations. The French island for its part is looking at the bigger picture and dreams of becoming the major’s permanent rear base in the Indian Ocean, Africa Intelligence reports.

French group Total, alarmed at the deteriorating security situation in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, where it is developing two liquefaction trains worth $20bn, is seeking to relocate some of its activities.

According to our information, the major headed by Patrick Pouyanné has been negotiating with authorities in Mayotte to use the French overseas department to help with its offshore operations. Mayotte would initially serve as a logistics platform, in particular for storing some of the equipment needed for offshore work. The island’s authorities have pulled out all the stops in their bid to get Total to establish itself there. They hope this will boost the economy and revitalise the department, where 84% of people live below the poverty line.

Mayotte has highlighted its many strengths in its attempt to woo Total. It is located about 500 km from the Mozambican town of Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province. On the logistics side, it has a deep-water port and a small naval base in Dzaoudzi. A detachment of the French Foreign Legion commanded by Col. Hugues Latournerie is permanently deployed on the island. It also boasts a fully functional hospital complex, a rarity in the region.

Total subcontractors drag their feet

Mayotte already imagines itself as the major’s sole and permanent rear base in the region, and hopes that Total will base the families of its expatriate workers there. That particular project is however not likely to happen in the near future. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the firm to deploy its workers without their families, and this policy will remain in force at least until June.

Other logistical constraints could dampen the island’s high hopes. The 1,930m runway at Dzaoudzi-Pamandzi, the main airport, is not big enough to accommodate very large aircraft. French President Emmanuel Macron has just over a year left to make good on his election campaign promise of an extension of the runway to 2,600m before his term ends in 2022.

Another problem is that Total works with a host of subcontractors in Mozambique who are reluctant to move to Mayotte. The major has however asked these firms to assess the costs of shifting some operations there. This fallback solution could help it avoid any future shutdowns of its activities. Its operations in northern Mozambique are currently at a standstill after jihadist violence in Cabo Delgado forced the group to repatriate most of its workforce to the capital Maputo late last year.

A jihadist inusrgency has been raging in the province since October 2017. The villages of Mute and Monjane, a few dozen kilometres from the Afungi peninsula, where Total’s liquefaction train site is located, suffered terror attacks in December.

Paris plumps for Mayotte

Security is the overriding argument for the move to Mayotte, which becomes increasingly attractive as the situation in Cabo Delgado worsens and delays the development of Total’s infrastructure. The firm is in close contact with Mozambican authorities on the matter, as it has to obtain their authorisation for them to cross Mozambican borders and use Mayotte as a rear base.

French authorities for their part are fully in favour of the Mayotte option, which they see as the “patriotic” choice. A range of French companies are involved in the Mozambican gas mega-project (Africa Intelligence, 07/07/20), and the French government thus takes a keen interest in the Cabo Delgado insurgency. Armed forces minister Florence Parly on 12 January told French MPs that she was looking into how to provide training to support the Mozambican armed forces.