Total Secures $15.8bn for Mozambique LNG Project: Press
France's Total has secured $15.8bn in financing for its LNG export project in northern Mozambique, the local division of South African bank FirstRand, FNB Mozambique, was quoted as saying by Reuters on July 9.
Contracts for the funding were signed on July 3 with a consortium of 20 banking institutions, FNB said. FirstRand's investment banking arm Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) said in May it was part of the group.
Mozambique LNG is targeting 75 trillion ft3 of gas at the Golfinho and Atum gas fields in the Rovuma basin off the Mozambique coast. The $20bn project is due on stream by 2024, and will produce 13mn mt/yr of LNG at full capacity.
"FNB intends to enter other large natural gas projects in Mozambique," FNB said. ExxonMobil and Italy's Eni are developing a 15.2mn mt/yr LNG export plant in the country, but have delayed taking a final investment decision until 2021.
In May FNB said the financing would be "a remarkable achievement in the circumstances. The backdrop could not have been worse for Total and partners to raise huge volumes of long tenor funding – the economic fallout of Covid-19 has put enormous pressure on banks’ funding and capital and has triggered an oil price crash."