Mozambique, Eq Guinea Sign MoU
Mozambique and Equatorial Guinea's petroleum ministers have signed a memo of understanding in recent days setting out common policies in the oil and gas sector and plans to share experience and human resources in various sectors, according to Equatorial Guinea.
It follows on from an earlier agreement signed April 5 2017 between both countries' heads of state. There was little other detail, with nothing on Mozambique's ministry website or that of its upstream regulator INH. Neither ministry has an operating role in any LNG project, although both states have equity interests in the sector.
The agreement is believed to have been signed March 2 at the end of a two-day visit by Equatorial Guinea's mines and hydrocarbons minister Gabriel Obiang (shown left in the photo below, courtesy of that ministry) to the Mozambican capital Maputo; the other signatory was Mozambican mineral resources and energy minister Ernesto Max Elias Tonela (shown right), in office since December 2017 when he replaced Leticia da Silva Klemens.
Equatorial Guinea has had an LNG venture in operation since 2007, and a floating LNG project (Fortuna) offshore that is trying to wrap up financing for a final investment decision (FID) this year aimed at a 2020-21 launch. The state has equity in both ventures.
Mozambique is a gas exporter by pipeline to South Africa but has one floating LNG venture that has taken FID and is set to start up 2022 (Coral FLNG). A much bigger onshore LNG export complex is also planned that would receive gas from two US operators: Anadarko announced March 5 further progress on its project (to monetise deepwater offshore Area 1 gas, initially as a 12.88mn mt/yr scheme, subject to FID) while ExxonMobil is less advanced in assembling a project that would use Area 4 gas. State ENH has equity in both Coral FLNG and the two deepwater projects that would liquefy gas onshore. Both Anadarko and Exxon have said that the combined eventual size of their LNG project onshore, which will share a site, could exceed 40mn mt/yr.