Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said today that “new development horizons are beginning to sparkle” with the start of gas exploitation in the Rovuma basin, off Cabo Delgado province, the pacification of which he is confident.
President Nyusi was speaking in South Korea during preparation for departure for Mozambique of the Coral Sul floating platform, the first to exploit, as of 2022, the offshore LNG reserves in the north of the country, ranked among the largest gas discoveries of the world.
For the Mozambican president, the day corresponds to “the realisation of collective dreams” of a country that “from a small producer” is on the way to becoming a “relevant producer of liquefied natural gas worldwide”.
Filipe Nyusi was congratulated by Korean President Moon Jae-in, who also participated in today’s ceremony, cutting the symbolic mooring of the floating LNG platform on the quayside of Samsung’s industrial division in Geoje, where it was built.
In front of the audience and partners in Mozambique’s exploration Area 4, including Italian oil company Eni, which heads the Coral Sul project, Nyusi promised “everything to remove the last obstacle” until “complete security and tranquillity” were restored – alluding to the armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado.
Saying that he was aware that “peace and security” are essential for investment, he said that “remarkable advances in actions against terrorism in the province” had been made.
This growing security “encourages Area 1 investors, led by TotalEnergies, to consider resuming investment” onshore, in Palma district, suspended in March due to armed rebel attacks.
The Mozambican president said that there were ongoing discussions with concessionaires about “the right moment” to resume the construction of the gas liquefaction plant on the Afungi peninsula, but without making any specific commitments regarding dates.
If investment onshore has suffered from the insurgency, in the Coral Sul project, some 50 kilometres off the coast, the insecurity “has had no material impact”, Eni said today in a note sent to Lusa.
At a strategic level, Filipe Nyusi cites the development of Rovuma’s natural gas reserves as a mitigating response to the effects of climate change, since natural gas generates lower carbon emissions, while at the same time contributing to the industrialisation of the country and the provision of universal access to electricity.
Amidst fireworks and festive music – with Mozambique represented by saxophonist Moreira Chonguiça’s interpretation of the national anthem – the floating LNG facility was named Coral Sul (after the gas reserves it will exploit) by Mozambique’s First Lady, Isaura Nyusi.
On Tuesday, the floating infrastructure will slip its moorings to be towed for 60 days across the Indian Ocean by three tugboats to its anchorage point in Mozambique.
Technical preparations will follow, such as the attachment of the platform 50 kilometres off the coast of Cabo Delgado province using 20 moorings attached to the seabed two kilometres below, as well as its connection to the six wells already drilled.
The gas will rise through the pipes to the on-board factory, which will transform it into liquid and store it for the first export to take place in the second half of 2022 – the date indicated today by Eni, despite executive director Claudio Descalzi noting that this could happen in June.
By the end of next year, production will gradually increase until it plateaus at 3.4 million tonnes per year, sold under a 20-year contract to BP, with the possibility of a 10-year extension.
Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), a joint venture co-owned by ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC (China), which holds a 70% stake in the concession contract.
Galp, KOGAS (South Korea) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (Mozambique) each hold a 10% stake.
Lusa travelled to South Korea at the invitation of the Mozambican government and the Area 4 gas exploration consortium.
