ExxonMobil “optimistic and pushing forward” with Mozambique’s Rovuma LNG

ExxonMobil is “optimistic and pushing forward” with the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique and eyes an FID by the year’s end, Reuters cited a company official as saying on Thursday.

Arne Gibbs, general manager at ExxonMobil Mozambique, made the remarks at an energy conference in Maputo.

Rovuma LNG is a planned 18-million-tonne-per-year facility set to be built in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. It will be fed by gas produced from the Area 4 licence in the offshore Rovuma Basin.

The highly anticipated FID will follow several years of force majeure status after terrorist attacks hit the key city of Palma.

Gibbs also commented on the project’s redesign from a conventional 15-million-tpy facility to an 18-million-tpy electric modular plant.

“It was important to change our design to a project that is ready-made, that is fit for purpose for the current business environment, including the attention to CO2 emissions and GHG,” he said.

An initial FID of USD 500 million for the project was reached in 2019 between the government and Mozambique Rovuma Venture.

ExxonMobil is a partner in the Area 4 offshore licence, working alongside Eni and China National Petroleum Corporation.