- The French oil company Total told Portuguese news agency Lusa last Friday that it maintains 2024 as the year of natural gas production in northern Mozambique, despite the uncertainties that Covid-19 and the low price of oil are causing.
- The statement came after the company’s executive director, Patrick Pouyanné, announced a week ago a one-fifth cut in investment spending for this year and reductions in operating costs.
In Mozambique, Total is very committed to preventing Covid-19 from reaching the project in the Afungi peninsula and surrounding communities of the construction works of Area 1.
“Members of the local labour force and expatriates in Afungi, capable of performing their functions remotely, have been repositioned at Total’s office in Maputo or their homes,” the company said.
The rotation schedules for other members of the workforce to maintain operations has also been revised.
These help to significantly reduce the risk of spreading the new coronavirus, in addition to allowing the project to progress as far as possible.
The development plan for Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, is estimated at $23 billion – twice the country’s GDP.
There will be two gas liquefaction lines with a total production capacity of 12.88 million tonnes per year (mtpa) and beside the works of the plant, an airstrip is already operational.
Total leads the Area 1 consortium with 26.5%, alongside the Japanese Mitsui (20%) and the Mozambican state oil company ENH (15%), with smaller participation from the Indian ONGC Videsh (10%) and its subsidiary Beas (10%), Bharat Petro Resources (10%), and the Thai PTTEP (8.5%).
Author: GBA News Desk
Source: Lusa
1 Comment
Good for them. I truly hope the take the right measures when it comes to environmental sustainability.