The Mozambican private sector reiterated on Thursday 12 September that all the conditions are in place to resume activities in the Rovuma basin, specifically in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) exploration and production project led by French oil company TotalEnergies.
The project worth 20 billion dollars, based in the district of Palma, in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, with a reserve of 64 trillion cubic feet and a capacity of 13 million tonnes per year (mtpa), was interrupted in March 2021, after TotalEnergies declared force majeure following the terrorist attacks nearby.
In this regard, the president of the Mineral Resources Department at the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA), Simone Santi, said that the sector is optimistic that activities and investments will soon move forward, reiterating support for the government and the companies involved.
‘Good conditions have already been created for investors to return, TotalEnergies can also restructure its financing, but we are very optimistic,’ said the official quoted by Radio Moçambique.
In May, the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, recognised that there had been ‘positive progress’ towards the resumption of the French multinational’s natural gas megaproject in Cabo Delgado province, but without committing to any deadlines.
‘We’re working on it and it’s best to continue gradually,’ said Patrick Pouyanné, questioned by journalists in Rwanda after a meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.
‘We discussed the conditions for resuming the project in Cabo Delgado. I believe we have made positive progress with all the contractors and, from that point of view, we are ready to resume. We are also working with all the financiers to resume financing the project and everything is progressing well,’ added the head of the French multinational.
‘Good conditions have already been created for investors to return, TotalEnergies can also restructure the financing, but we are very optimistic’
In an analysis made in July, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that the LNG megaproject could restart this year, with the first exports expected within four years.
The financial institution recalled that ‘with a view to improving security in the north, the French oil company carried out an assessment of the human rights situation in May 2023 and developed an action plan that establishes a basis for local socio-economic development’.
At the time, the IMF said that although the company has not yet announced the official resumption of the development phase, it is expected soon, once the project’s funding is secured.
Mozambique has three development projects approved to exploit the natural gas reserves of the Rovuma basin, classified as among the largest in the world, all located off the coast of Cabo Delgado province.
Two of these projects are larger and involve channelling the gas from the seabed to land, cooling it in a plant and then exporting it by sea in a liquid state.
One is led by TotalEnergies (Area 1 consortium) and work progressed until it was suspended indefinitely after the armed attack on Palma in March 2021, when the French energy company declared that it would only resume work when the area was safe. The other is the still unannounced investment led by ExxonMobil and Eni (Area 4 consortium).
A third completed, smaller project also belongs to the Area 4 consortium and consists of a floating platform for capturing and processing gas for export, directly at sea, which started up in November 2022.
