Thore Kristiansen, Galp’s exploration and production director said Monday that the suspension of Total’s operations in the Cabo Delgado gas project “does not directly impact” the Portuguese oil company’s operations in the region.
“It does not impact us directly, because the operations underway in Area 4 continue to be to optimize and improve the product, in order to make it progress in the value chain,” said Thore E. Kristiansen, during a webcast to present the oil company’s first quarter results.
Questioned by Lusa about the suspension of operations confirmed by Total, Galp’s operations director acknowledged that “the situation in Cabo Delgado is serious”, so “it is understandable that it first has to be controlled to ensure the safety of the people working there”.
It should be noted that the oil company Total announced reasons of “force majeure” to have withdrawn all personnel, “considering the evolution of the security situation in the north of Cabo Delgado province.
Following this announcement, the Government of Mozambique assured that the Total oil company “did not abandon” the natural gas project in Cabo Delgado, but only suspended activities “for an indefinite period of time.”
“I want, once again here, to reaffirm that there was and is no abandonment by Total, what happened was a suspension of activities due to the insecurity in the area,” said the president of the National Petroleum Institute (INP), Carlos Zacarias, at a press conference.
For the Government, “it is clear that Total keeps its obligations, in the scope of the petroleum exploration and production contract”, continued Zacarias.
Carlos Zacarias pointed out that the “force majeure” clause invoked by Total will help mitigate the costs incurred by the gas project concessionaire consortium and subcontractors, but does not imply the end of the venture.
“The first effect is that (the invocation of the force majeure clause) protects both sides, in that it will mitigate further costs that may eventually be incurred for services that cannot be provided,” he stressed.
In the new context, he continued, Total will be able to discuss with contractors ways to minimize the negative impact arising from the shutdown.
Valued at 20 billion euros, the investment of the consortium led by Total in the natural gas project in Cabo Delgado is the largest private investment underway in Africa.
The Portuguese Galp, Kogas (South Korea) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (Mozambique) each have a 10% stake in a consortium for natural gas exploration in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin, off the coast of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, led by Italian oil company Eni and US ExxonMobil.
