Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

TotalEnergies officially delays opening of Mozambique LNG to 2026

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TotalEnergies has delayed the commissioning and first gas at its $20bn Mozambique LNG project from 2024 to 2026 following the declaration of Force Majeure earlier this year.

The 12.88 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) onshore terminal reached FID in 2019 and was under-construction when the Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado in the north of Mozambique forced TotalEnergies to shut down activity.

This leaves the southern African country with only one LNG terminal to be commissioned in the first half of this decade, Eni’s Coral South FLNG. The project relies on a floating LNG (FLNG) vessel and is unaffected by instability and insurgency around the city of Palma. The 3.4 mtpa FLNG unit is expected to start producing gas in 2022 with a final investment decision (FID) on phase 2 expected before 2030.

Meanwhile, there is still no visibility on the future of the 15.2 mtpa Rovuma LNG onshore terminal where FID was expected to be taken by ExxonMobil and Eni in 2020 but was also delayed following changing market dynamics and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mozambique entered the current decade with firm ambitions to become a major LNG exporter by 2025. The country was expected to reach a double-digit growth of 11.1% in 2024 and 2025 following the commissioning of Mozambique LNG. Such revisions will now have to be revised downward.

Details on the Coral South FLNG, Mozambique LNG and Rovuma LNG projects are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

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