ENI plans to diversify natural gas exploration in Mozambique

Posted on : Saturday , 6th December 2014

The ENI group wants to use different methods for natural gas exploration in the Rovuma basin in northern Mozambique and production is expected to start in 2019, the Managing Director of the company for the region said Wednesday in Maputo.

Fabrizio Trilli said the success of the Italian group’s project should not be limited to extraction and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), so the group, as early as 2015, want to start construction of a power plant in Palma district, with a 75-megawatt capacity, and a gas processing plant for liquid fuels (GTL), producing up to 96,000 barrels per day, of which 70 percent will be diesel and 30 percent naphtha.

“For this project to succeed, all solutions must be explored: we must use all technically and commercially feasible solutions,” said Trilli addressing the 2nd Mozambique Gas Summit, which ends today in the Mozambican capital.

The Director-General of ENI East Africa also said that in addition to the planned construction of two natural gas liquefaction plants in Afungi Peninsula, Cabo Delgado district, which it plans to develop jointly with US company Anadarko Petroleum, the Italian oil Italian group plans to use a floating LNG rig, a proposal on which the consortium leader is expected to announce a decision soon.

If this project goes ahead, ENI plans to start extracting LNG in the Rovuma basin in 2019.

The natural gas liquefaction units on the Afungi Peninsula, costing in excess of US$23 billion, according to ENH, are expected to start operating in 2020 according to sector analysts.

At the conference, the president of Anadarko Mozambique, John Peffer, called for an initial strategy for development of the gas industry in the region, focused on monetizing this resource through production and export of LNG, as the reserves are “deep water,” which makes them more costly to explore.

“It’s the only way to begin exploring gas in Mozambique. There may be other opportunities in the future, but we need the LNG to proceed, because the gas extracted in deep water is not cheap,” he said.

The Area-1 consortium is led by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (26.5 percent) ENH (15 percent), Indian groups ONGC Videsh (20 percent) and BRPL Ventures (10 percent), Japan’s Mitsui & Co (20 percent) and Thai group PTT Exploration and Production (8.5 percent).

In Area-4, in addition to ENI (50 percent), are China National Petroleum Corporation (20 percent), along with Korea Gas, Galp Energia of Portugal and ENH, all with 10 percent each. (macauhub/CN/MZ/PT)