December 7, 2015 4:08 pm

Anadarko Petroleum to take Africa decision in 2016

Andrew England in Johannesburg

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Anadarko Petroleum is planning to make a final decision next year on how it will develop vast gas discoveries that the US company has made off the east coast of Mozambique.

There have been concerns that the collapse in oil prices could cause big delays in the commercialisation of Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas projects, but Al Walker, Anadarko’s chief executive, said the company was on track to start producing LNG by late 2020.

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Pressing ahead with Anadarko’s project in the Rovuma Basin in the Indian Ocean hinges on the company taking a final investment decision, which had been expected this year.

This decision is now due to take place in the second half of next year, Mr Walker said, following important milestone agreements with the Mozambique government and Eni, the Italian oil company that has also made large gas discoveries in the Rovuma Basin.

Mr Walker told the Financial Times that the agreements announced last Thursday were a “very important step in the direction of reaching [a final investment decision] we hope in the second half of 2016”.

Anadarko has discovered more than 75tn cubic feet of gas in the Rovuma Basin, while Eni has identified about 85tn cubic feet. Combined, the resources have the potential to transform Mozambique into one of the world’s top LNG producers.

Mozambique is meant to be Anadarko’s first foray into LNG. The first phase of the project — expected to cost at least $15bn — involves the construction of two LNG trains that turn gas into liquid for transport, with output expected to reach 12m tonnes per year.

“We look at LNG as an important plank of our business platform . . . we want to build this in a time-efficient and cost-efficient manner,” said Mr Walker. “By the end of the 2020s, as we approach 2030, Mozambique probably will be second only to Qatar in terms of providing lowest-cost LNG in the world.”

He predicted that Mozambique could eventually be producing close to 50m tonnes of LNG per year — or in excess of that — as the gasfields are tapped. Anadarko has preliminary agreements with customers for them to buy about 75 per cent of the LNG generated by the first phase of Anadarko’s project, said Mr Walker.

However, the slump in crude prices since last year has prompted many energy groups to delay or shelve projects, and this has generated concerns that Mozambique’s LNG plans could be held back. The price of LNG in the Asian markets that are being targeted by Mozambique is tied to the value of crude.

Mozambique strives to get LNG projects online

Amid oil price crash, Anadarko and Eni have yet to take final investment decisions

But last Thursday, Anadarko announced it had overcome an important hurdle ahead of its final investment decision by securing an agreement with the Maputo government on the quantity of gas that will be sold to the domestic market.

The government is keen to use gas to support the development of local industries, such as factories making fertiliser. Anadarko said it had agreed to initially provide 100m cubic feet of gas per day for domestic use, with the possibility that it could later sell an additional 300m.

The US company also reached an agreement with Eni on how they would develop gas that straddles their two separate areas in the Rovuma Basin.

Anadarko is hopeful that Mozambique’s plans could benefit from delays with other energy projects, including those involving LNG, and industry-wide cutbacks in capital expenditure. Among other things, the company could secure cheaper deals with companies that provide services in developing Mozambique’s gasfields.

“Because there are so many projects that have been shelved or are moving forward more slowly, we think it’s a pretty nice environment to be able to drive down the costs because there’s less competition for those global services,” said Bob Gwin, Anadarko’s finance director.

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“With the slowdown in LNG prices, being a low-cost provider makes us more competitive, probably delays some other projects, and puts us in a much better position relative to the global LNG competitive environment five years down the road.”

Mr Gwin said Anadarko was making progress with arranging financing for its Mozambique project, with most of the debt expected to be provided by export credit agencies from the US, China, Japan and Italy.

In addition, the company has reached a “tentative agreement” for it and its consortium partners to loan Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, Mozambique’s cash-strapped state oil company, its share of the development costs. ENH is the main vehicle through which foreign oil groups interact with the Maputo government.

Anadarko ruled out further reducing its 26.5 per cent stake in the Mozambique LNG consortium, in spite of speculation that it could look to sell to ExxonMobil.

“That’s [the stake] exactly where we’d like to be and as we move forward our focus is getting these two trains built and online,” said Mr Walker.

Moçambique e África do Sul ligados por novo gasoduto

2015/12/01    NOTÍCIAS

O grupo petroquímico sul-africano Sasol e os governos da África do Sul e de Moçambique vão investir 120 milhões de dólares na construção de um novo gasoduto, a entrar em funcionamento em 2017, anunciou a empresa Rompco.

Esta empresa – Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investment Company (Rompco) – é uma parceria entre o grupo Sasol, a Companhia Moçambicana de Gasoduto e a sul-africana Gas Development Company (SOC) Limited (iGas).

A adição deste novo gasoduto, com uma extensão de 127 quilómetros, vai permitir que a África do Sul passe a receber 212 milhões de gigajoules, contra os actuais 188 milhões de gigajoules, com o envio de gás natural que o grupo sul-africano extrai nos campos de Pande e Temane, na província de Inhambane.

A construção do primeiro gasoduto, denominado “Loop Line 1″, custou 200 milhões de dólares, tendo Louis Bosch, director-geral da Rompco, afirmado no comunicado que o novo gasoduto ou “Loop Line 2″ representa o empenho da empresa em investir no desenvolvimento das infra-estruturas de Moçambique, bem como na utilização de fornecedores locais.

O novo gasoduto vai correr em paralelo durante uma parte do percurso do primeiro que, com uma extensão de 865 quilómetros, liga o campo de gás de Temane à central da Sasol em Secunda, na África do Sul. (Macauhub/MZ)

CFM recebem último lote de carruagens ferroviárias da China

2015/11/30    NOTÍCIAS

A empresa estatal Portos e Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) recebeu o último lote de carruagens ferroviárias encomendado na China para o transporte de carga e passageiros nas regiões sul e centro do país, disse o director da CFM-Sul, Augusto Abido.

O último lote a chegar ao porto de Maputo consiste em 33 carruagens , quatro furgões e igual número de geradores para dar resposta à procura crescente por transportes ferroviários que se verifica nas duas regiões mencionadas, com particular incidência na província de Maputo e na cidade da Beira, capital provincial de Sofala.

Com a chegada do novo equipamento, o sistema de transporte ferroviário passa a contar com mais 27 carruagens para a terceira classe, quatro de segunda classe e duas de primeira classe, o que devera permitir também o aumento do número de comboios em funcionamento, com vista a garantir maior comodidade aos passageiros.

Citado pelo jornal Domingo, Augusto Abido disse que, com a chegada do novo equipamento, o sistema de transporte ferroviário passa a contar com mais 27 carruagens para a terceira classe, quatro de segunda classe e duas de primeira classe, o que deverá permitir também o aumento do número de comboios em funcionamento.

Globalmente, serão colocadas 31 carruagens e quatro furgões na zona centro do país, concretamente nas rotas de Sena e Machipanda, sendo que o remanescente permanece na capital moçambicana, Maputo, para servir as vias de Chicanda, Goba e Ressano Garcia.

A CFM adquiriu em 2014 pelo menos 10 carruagens para o transporte de passageiros, número que se revelou insuficiente dada a procura existente, sendo que no percurso Matola/Maputo cerca de 100 mil pessoas utilizam diariamente o transporte ferroviário. (Macauhub/MZ)

Mozambique strives to get liquefied natural gas projects online

Mozambique strives to get liquefied natural gas projects online

Andrew England in Maputo   November 23, 2015 4:45 pm

Amid oil price crash, Anadarko and Eni have yet to take final investment decisions

Anadarko exploration for gas off the east coast of Mozambique

T

he slightly scruffy, nondescript building in downtown Maputo that serves as the headquarters of Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos — sandwiched between a KFC outlet and a café — could serve as a metaphor for the status of Mozambique’s state-owned oil company.

For much of its 35-year life, ENH was a dormant, little-known entity, and even today it struggles with limited resources. Yet in recent years, ENH has had many of the world’s top energy groups knocking on its doors because the waters off Mozambique’s east coast are home to some of the world’s largest untapped gas reserves.

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Since 2010, Anadarko Petroleum of the US and Italy’s Eni have made gas discoveries in the Rovuma Basin in the Indian Ocean that are estimated collectively to exceed 160tn cu ft. When developed, these gas reserves have the potential to transform one of the world’s poorest countries into a key global supplier of liquefied natural gas.

As the state energy company, ENH has a stake of at least 10 per cent in all Mozambique’s gas projects, and is the main vehicle through which foreign oil groups interact with the Maputo government.

The responsibility of steering ENH through the process of commercialising Mozambique’s gas discoveries falls to Omar Mitha, a former bank economist who became its chairman in August.

Unsurprisingly, he is bullish in an interview with the Financial Times about the potential the gas offers his country, describing it as “a transformational project and a unique opportunity for Mozambique to leapfrog its developmental stages”.

Yet Mr Mitha has moved into ENH’s top post at a tricky time — oil prices have collapsed since last year, and the price of LNG in the Asian markets that are being targeted by Mozambique is tied to the value of crude.

Against this backdrop, getting the Mozambique projects to development stage is taking longer than many expected.

Mr Mitha acknowledges with a mix of realism and urgency that ENH “is feeling the pressure” as an expectant nation waits for the riches beneath the Indian Ocean to be unlocked.

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“What is critical is that we need to speed up the pace to the market because the window of opportunity might shrink,” says Mr Mitha. “The reason behind that is because the dynamics of the marketplace are changing.”

Amid the oil price crash, western oil companies are tightening their belts partly by slashing capital expenditure and delaying projects. Meanwhile, output by some existing LNG producing countries, particularly Australia, is expected to increase significantly over the remainder of this decade — with the US due to join this group of nations soon.

Anadarko and Eni were both expected to deliver their final investment decisions for their Mozambique projects this year.

Eni has said it is sticking to that timetable, and Anadarko told the FT the timing of its final investment decision would depend on the pace of the Maputo government’s approval of relevant permits.

Analysts now think both companies’ decisions will probably take place next year.

Mr Mitha says ENH wants to see the first shipment of LNG leaving Mozambique’s shores in 2020 — a target shared by Anadarko and Eni.

But four years ago, when Eni announced it had made the largest gas discovery in its history off the coast of Mozambique, the Italian group was predicting that initial production would be possible in 2016.

One of the key issues is the financing of the Mozambique projects, which are expected to be among the largest ever in sub-Saharan Africa.

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The first phase of development by the consortium led by Anadarko — notably two LNG trains, as the plants that turn gas into liquid are known — is expected to cost at least $15bn.

The challenge for cash-strapped ENH — which generated 3.5bn meticais of revenue last year — is how it raises the estimated $1.5bn to $1.7bn to cover its share of the projects. It has a 15 per cent stake in the Anadarko consortium and a 10 per cent share of the Eni project.

The Maputo government, which last month agreed a $286m emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund, has severely constrained resources.

Mr Mitha says ENH is looking at the possibility of initially being “carried” by its partners in the projects, with the foreign groups financing the Mozambique company’s equity contributions.

This option is likely to be more costly for ENH than bank financing but could ease the process of getting the projects started. ENH would then look to traditional project financing from the banks once the developments are under way.

In spite of the challenges, he is confident that Mozambique’s gas will fulfil its potential. He was buoyed by the country’s latest licensing round, during which ExxonMobil of the US and Eni were among those awarded new blocks last month.

“It is a clear indication that even with our problems, we still offer advantages over other countries,” says Mr Mitha.

Concern over the potential for corruption

In an effort to avoid the curse that has afflicted many commodity producing countries in Africa — where governments failed to ensure that natural resources benefited local populations — ENH has ambitions to oversee the development of gas-fed industries. The idea is that Mozambique’s gas should have a practical benefit for the impoverished nation by creating domestic businesses and jobs. Among other things, ENH is interested in nurturing the production of agricultural fertiliser. Some 18,000 hectares of land has already been earmarked in the remote northern coastal area of Palma for a “gas city” that bears similarities to energy projects built in the deserts of the Arab Gulf. However, there is concern that corruption could rear its head when contracts are awarded in Mozambique. Last year, there was criticism by non-governmental organisations at what they regarded as a lack of transparency in the awarding of a key contract for a logistics base for the nascent gas industry in the northern port of Pemba. The contract was won by Enhils, a joint venture set up between ENH Logistics, a subsidiary of ENH, and Orlean Invest, a Nigeria-based company. Mr Mitha says ENH is doing its “utmost” to provide transparency, and while careful not to mention names, adds he is “not happy” when contracts have been awarded without an open tender process.

Bacia de Rowuma Blocks

Descobertas de Hidrocarbonetos

Mozambique Licensing Map

Moçambique concession blocos

Crescimento económico de Moçambique deverá abrandar para 5,5% em 2016

2015/10/06    NOTÍCIAS

A taxa de crescimento do Produto Interno Bruto de Moçambique deverá abrandar para 5,5% em 2016 e o aumento dos preços deverá ficar acima da previsão governamental de 5,6%, de acordo com o Boletim Mensal de Outubro do Standard Bank Mozambique.

“O governo divulgou recentemente as propostas de Orçamento Geral do Estado e Plano Económico e Social para 2016, que irão brevemente à discussão parlamentar, tendo projectado um crescimento do PIB de 7,8%, que se aproxima das nossas previsões apenas para o cenário menos provável, com o cenário mais provável a indicar um crescimento de 5,5%”, lê-se no Boletim Mensal de Outubro.

No documento citado pela agência noticiosa Lusa, os analistas liderados pelo economista-chefe do banco, Fáusio Mussá, lembram que os “dados do Instituto Nacional de Estatística indicam que o PIB desacelerou de 6,7% no primeiro trimestre para 5,9% no segundo trimestre deste ano, o que traduz um crescimento de 6,3% para o primeiro semestre” deste ano.

Relativamente aos preços, os analistas do Standard Bank afirmam haver o risco de a inflação “se fixar acima dos 5,6% previstos para 2016 devido à fragilidade do metical e à necessidade de aumento de alguns dos preços fixados administrativamente que permanecem inalterados por um longo período de tempo.” (Macauhub/MZ)

Seven submitted bids for the hydrocarbon licensing round in Mozambique - Government

Seven international consortia submitted bids on the fifth research contest and gas production released in October by the Mozambican government, according to a media release by the National Oil Institute (INP).

According to the note, announcing that the tender has ended on Thursday, in the running for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons are seven consortia led by companies Total (France), Eni (Italy), ExxonMobil (USA), Troisade and Delonex (both from England), Rosneft (Russia) and Sasol (South Africa).

The competition focuses on 15 blocks in northern, central and southern Mozambique, with a total length of 74,402 square kilometres.

INP indicates that it will announce the tender results within three months, after assessing the impact on health and environment, technical expertise, financial capacity and economic advantages to the Mozambican state proposed by each of the competing consortia.

Gas reserves estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been discovered in recent years in Mozambique in research carried out by consortia led by Italian Eni and the US Anadarko in the Rovuma basin, northern Mozambique.

The South African multinational Sasol is exploring natural gas in Pande and Temane in southern Mozambique, having built a 850 kilometre pipeline linking the gas fields to the company's industrial complex in South Africa.


Source: Lusa

Photo: INP

Mozambique's First Offshore Licensing Round Closes August 31st

Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mocambique (ENH) launched Mozambique's first offshore licensing round March 31st with 14 of its 31 blocks in the Mozambique Indian Ocean aquatory on offer, ranging from Blocks 16 and 17 offshore Temane and Blocks 19 and 20 offshore Pande, northward along the coast to just south of Angoche. The round closes August 31st.

Vintage data and data acquired by Western Geophysical in 1998-99 is available. In addition, ENH recently commissioned Elf Aquitaine to conduct both seismic and geophysics synthesis work over this largely unexplored sector near the Zambeze Delta, where water depths range from 1,800 to 3,000 meters.

Edited by Dev George

China ofereceu autocarros à empresa de transportes públicos de Maputo, Moçambique

2011/07/18    NOTÍCIAS

Maputo, Moçambique, 18 Jul – O governo da China ofereceu 72 autocarros novos à empresa Transportes Públicos de Maputo (TPM), um donativo avaliado em 30 milhões de yuans (cerca de 4,6 milhões de dólares), informou quinta-feira a agência noticiosa moçambicana AIM.

A decisão do governo da China de oferecer autocarros, da marca Yutong movidos a gasóleo, visou, de acordo com a AIM, ajudar Moçambique a minimizar o problema da falta de transporte de passageiros.

Falando durante a cerimónia da recepção dos autocarros, o primeiro-ministro moçambicano, Aires Ali, afirmou existir um acordo para o envio de peças sobressalentes e acrescentou ter-se a China comprometido igualmente a montar uma oficina e enviar técnicos a Moçambique para formar os funcionários da TPM na manutenção daqueles autocarros.

Por seu turno, o embaixador chinês em Moçambique, Huang Songfu, enalteceu os progressos económicos e sociais registados por Moçambique nos últimos anos e garantiu que o seu país pretende continuar a ajudar Moçambique na luta contra a pobreza.

A AIM informou ainda que a empresa TPM possui uma capacidade para transportar apenas 10% dos passageiros, actualmente calculados em cerca de 900 mil por dia, situação que poderá melhorar com alguns investimentos recentemente efectuados. (macauhub)

Moatize mine

The Moatize mine in Mozambique is a metallurgical coal mine being developed by Vale (formerly known as CVRD - Companhia Vale do Rio Doce)

The Moatize mine was officially inaugurated in May 2011, and has an estimated life span of 35 years. In the first phase of the project the company plans to mine 11-million tons of coal a year, of which 8.5-million tons will be metallurgical coal and 2.5-million tons thermal coal.^[1] It was announced in November 2011 that Vale was going to spend $6 billion to expand the Moatize mine in the second half of 2014. The investment is aimed at increasing production from 11 million tonnes to 22 million tonnes per year.^[2]

Imagery ©2015 CNES / Astrium, Cnes/Spot Image, DigitalGlobe, Landsat

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Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Project details
  • 1.1 Proposed coal plant
• 2 May 2011: Coal production begins
• 3 August 2011: Coal reaches Beira port
• 4 Vale to spend $4.4 billion to build terminal at Nacala port and rail line; Japan also studies terminal funding=
• 5 Possible collaboration with South Korea
• 6 Protests
• 7 Articles and resources
  • 7.1 References
  • 7.2 Related SourceWatch articles
  • 7.3 External resources
  • 7.4 External articles

Project details

Vale won the tender for exploration rights over the Moatize deposit in November 2004.^[3]

On its website Vale states that the mine is planned to "produce 11 Mtpa (million tons per annum) of coal per year for the next 35 years – 8.5 Mtpa of metallurgical coal (hard coking coal) and 2.5 Mtpa of thermal coal. Production is due to begin in 2011."^[4]

The mine’s output will be transported Sena railway to the port of Biera. The company states that the coal export terminal "will be built under a concession from the Mozambican government. One of the largest coal handling and preparation plants (CHPPs) in the world is being built, with the capacity to process 26 Mtpa of coal."^[4]

In its 2009 annual report, Vale states that it has 1,087 million tonnes of coal resources (both proven and probable) across all its mines and projects. However, of that total, 954 million are in the Moatize mine. The company states that the projected depletion date of the project is 2046.^[5]

Moatize phase II is scheduled for 2015, and Vale has said it will increase production at the mine to 22 million metric tons annually, including five million tons of thermal coal.^[6]

In January 2014 Mitsui of Japan said it had agreed to pay nearly US$450 million for a 15 per cent stake in Vale’s Moatize mine, and invest a further US$188 million to fund the mine's expansion. Mitsui also agreed to pay US$313 million for a 50 per cent stake in Vale’s subsidiary that has been promoting the multi-billion dollar Nacala port and rail project.^[7]

Proposed coal plant

The Vale Tete Power Station is a proposed 600 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station by Vale for the Tete province of Mozambique. Construction was planned to begin in 2013, but the plant was not approved until 2014. Vale said the plant will put part of the Moatize mine’s thermal coal reserves to use, generating electricity that will be used for the power grid centered on the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power plant, also in the Tete province.^[8]

May 2011: Coal production begins

In May 2011 it was announced that Brazilian company Vale began coal production at an open cast mine in Moatize, Mozambique. Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza and Vale Chairman Roger Agnell in early May 2011 detonated the first charge of explosives initiating coal production. President Guebuza declared that the ceremony was the confirmation that "what was previously a dream is now a majestic undertaking in which natural resources are driving the development of Mozambican human resources". Vale invested about US $2.0 billion in Mozambique as of May 2011, and the company stated that it intended to invest a further US $4.0 billion over the next five years. Vale expected exports of coal to begin within by July 2011, despite delays in rebuilding the Sena railway line, which links Moatize to the port of Beira. Currently, Vale-Mozambique employs approximately 8,000 workers, more than 85 percent of whom said to be Mozambican. "In the second phase of the project, which is already being developed, we will employ 15,000 workers," said a company spokesman.^[9]

August 2011: Coal reaches Beira port

Brazilian mining titan Vale reported in August 2011 that it delivered its first coal by train from its Moatize mine project to the Beira port and expects to export the coal in August 2011. The first train carried 2,200 metric tons of coal from Vale’s Moatize coal mine.

Vale is the first of the major mining companies to start producing thermal and metallurgical coal from the Tete basin. The Moatize project will be able to produce up to 11 million tons of coal, 8.5 million tons of which will be metallurgical coal and 2.5 million tons thermal coal.^[10]

Vale to spend $4.4 billion to build terminal at Nacala port and rail line; Japan also studies terminal funding=

In July 2011 it was announced that Brazilian based Vale began studies on building a coal terminal at Nacala port in northern Mozambique. The project is expected to cost about $1.5 billion.^[11] In 2012, Vale, said that it was planning to spend $4.4 billion to build the terminal and the 912 km railway line to connect the port with its Moatize mine. Separately, Japan has been conducting a feasibility study on improving the capacity and operation of the port. However, as of February 2012 Japan remained undecided on whether to fund the Nacala project.^[12]

Possible collaboration with South Korea

On January 30, 2011, South Korean steel group Posco said it had agreed with Brazilian group Vale to the joint development of a coal mine in the in Tete province of Mozambique. In a statement, the group said that the coal mine could produce 11 million tons of coal per year, to be used for generating electricity.^[13] While the news reports didn't specifically mention the mine name, the only mine that Vale is developing is Moatize mine. In a later story Reuters reported that POSCO denied the earlier report and said that "we don't have any plan to develop a coal mine in Mozambique with Vale and our earlier statement had factually wrong information".^[14]

Protests

In April 2013 former landowners displaced by the mining project blocked the entrance to the mine. The BBC reported that approximately 5,000 landowners had been displaced by the mine. After more than a year of negotiations with the company and five years after they were displaced in 2008 for the mine, frustrated landowners blocked the entrance to the mine. While the company argued that it had paid those displaced approximately $2,000 per person, the landowners argued that they should receive more because of the loss of the community's brick-making industry. "When Vale came to Mozambique the government told us, you will get very rich. That is why we want the company to pay us what it owes us," one of the protesters, Maxwell April, told AFP. ^[15]