French energy major TotalEnergies, leader of the Mozambique LNG consortium in Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin, in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, is moving forward with changes to its country-based leadership.
According to the newspaper Savana, the current president and managing director of the oil company in Mozambique, Maxime Rabilloud, will be replaced by petroleum engineer Jean-Pascal Clémençon, who will oversee the construction phase of the project following its relaunch.
A lawyer by training, Rabilloud has been in the country since August 2021 and led the entire force majeure period, declared after the high-profile jihadist attack on the town of Palma on 24 March of that year.
“Rabilloud managed socio-economic projects on an uncommon scale for major oil developments. One example is the Fish Processing Centre, inaugurated this Thursday, 29 January, in Mocímboa da Praia by President Daniel Chapo, accompanied by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné,” the report states.
According to the information, the Fish Processing Centre project is valued at 4 million dollars and has the potential to benefit around 3,000 fishermen in the region, which has frequently been targeted by insurgent attacks that have terrorised Cabo Delgado since October 2017.
Jean-Pascal Clémençon, former Senior Vice President for Strategy and Markets at TotalEnergies, has already been in Maputo to begin the transition process, which is expected to last up to six months, similar to what occurred with the former Project Technical Director, Stephane Les-Galles, who was replaced last year.
The new key figure in Mozambique has previously led TotalEnergies subsidiaries in Egypt and Algeria and has more than 25 years of experience in the oil and gas exploration and production industry across three continents, having worked for different companies in the sector and held leadership positions.
At 56, Clémençon began his career in Gabon at Perenco in 1995 as a production supervisor and later as an offshore facilities manager on several oil platforms. He then joined Shell in Aberdeen, Scotland, in late 1997 to participate in the development of several offshore oil and gas fields.
In 2002, he joined TotalEnergies to lead the “Long-Term Exploration and Production Plan.” In 2005, he moved to the Iran region to negotiate contracts related to the Pars LNG project. In 2008, he was assigned to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to negotiate concession renewals.
Jean-Pascal Clémençon was also appointed Business Development Director of TotalEnergies E&P Congo (2010–13) in Pointe-Noire. He was subsequently named General Manager of TotalEnergies E&P Egypt (2013–18) before moving to Algiers to lead the TotalEnergies subsidiary there (2018–21). In 2021, he took up the position of Senior Vice President for Strategy and Markets at the French energy group.
TotalEnergies officially announced on Thursday (29) the resumption of the Mozambique LNG project on the Afungi Peninsula, in Cabo Delgado province, which had been suspended for four and a half years due to the armed insurgency in northern Mozambique. Valued at 20 billion dollars, it is currently the largest private investment underway in Africa and marks a new phase in the exploitation of Mozambican natural gas. Estimated production is 13 million tonnes of LNG per year, with development already around 40% complete.
In addition to TotalEnergies, the consortium includes Japan’s Mitsui, Mozambique’s ENH, Thailand’s PTT, and India’s ONGC, Bharat Petroleum and Oil India. The construction contractor is CCS JV, a consortium formed by Saipem, McDermott and Chiyoda.
Mozambique has three approved development projects for the exploitation of natural gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin, classified among the largest in the world, all located offshore the coast of Cabo Delgado province.
A study by consultancy Deloitte indicates that Mozambique’s vast natural gas reserves could generate up to 100 billion dollars in revenues by 2040, making the country one of the world’s ten largest producers and responsible for 20% of Africa’s LNG production.
Source: Diário Económico
