Gas from Mozambique is among the alternatives for Europe

The outgoing European Union ambassador to Mozambique said on Saturday that natural gas from Cabo Delgado was among the alternatives in Europe’s plan to diversify energy sources in the face of the constraints caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Mozambique gas, with the presence of large European multinational companies, now has an even more important and strategic value,” Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar said in an interview with Lusa in Maputo.

According to the diplomat, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe came to the conclusion that “it cannot trust its old partner [Russia, among the largest gas exporters in the world], which is authoritarian and uses gas as an instrument of war,” and is currently making efforts to secure alternative sources.

“We have adopted a new strategy in Europe, called ‘RePower EU’, which has several elements […] With regard to gas, which is considered a transitional energy, we are looking for alternative suppliers […] Mozambique is among the alternatives ,” Ambassador Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar stressed. Although the gas from the three projects approved so far is pre-sold, Mozambique has proven reserves of more than 180 trillion cubic feet, according to the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy. Despite promising prospects, the armed insurgency that began in 2017 in Cabo Delgado province is a threat, but the entry of foreign troops to support Mozambican forces in the middle of last year has improved the security situation, recovering important positions such as the village of Mocímboa da Praia.

“There have been great advances on the ground. The insurgency no longer has this ability to permanently control key territories,” Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar noted.

Since the beginning of June, new attacks have been launched in the south of the province, targeting points in Ancuabe district, with incursions also sowing unrest in Metuge, Mecúfi and Chiure districts nearby. It is suspected that the actions in Ancuabe district are the work of rebels fleeing the military offensive that has been ongoing since July 2021, with international support.For the outgoing EU ambassador, despite the advances, the terrorist threat will continue for some time in northern Mozambique. “I think that unfortunately, the threat will continue in a localised manner. Everything indicates that some of these [rebel] forces are mixed with the population, and also that terrorists from other places are arriving,” Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar said. The Spanish diplomat ends his mission in Mozambique at the end of July and will be replaced by the Italian ambassador Antonino Maggiore.

Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, is rich in natural gas, but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), about 784,000 persons have been internally displaced by the conflict, which has killed about 4,000, according to the ACLED conflict registry project. Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops, with the support of Rwandan and later Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops, has recovered a number of areas from rebel control, but their flight has led to new attacks in districts through which they have passed or where they have taken up temporary refuge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mozambique and South Africa

The governments of Mozambique and South Africa are accelerating negotiations on the speedy implementation of projects to increase electricity production and fill the neighbouring country’s energy deficit. “There is interest in the alignment between the governments of Mozambique and South Africa so that we can swiftly implement projects that lead to the production of more electricity,” Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Carlos Zacarias told journalists in Inhambane during a recent visit to monitor implementation of oil and gas projects there. One way to increase supply is the projected Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric project, which is expected to produce 1,500 Megawatts and associated energy transport infrastructure.

At an estimated cost of US$4.5 billion, the project includes the development of a dam, a power plant capable of producing up to 1500 Megawatts and a 1,300-kilometre high-voltage power transmission line from Tete province to Maputo. Completion of the project is scheduled for 2031. The minister said that the combined-cycle power plant project using gas, the construction of a cooking gas factory facilities, and the power transmission line between Temane and Maputo would also help supply South Africa. 

The Temane Thermal Power Plant project follows a Production Sharing Contract (PSA) involving the Government of Mozambique, the National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) and the South African multinational SASOL, estimated at around US$760 million. It foresees the production of 4,000 barrels of light oil per day, 23 million gigajoules of natural gas for energy generation per year, and the production of 30,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG/cooking gas).

The natural gas to make the Temane Thermal Power Plant Project (CTT) viable will be supplied by ENH and SASOL, named as co-sellers of the product in a contract signed with Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) in May, 2021. This plan will guarantee the generation of 450 Megawatts of electricity and results from a public-private partnership formed and led by Globeleq, EDM and SASOL, with a concession valid for 25 years. At the end of the contract, the asset will be transferred to the Mozambican state. The US$652.3 million Central Termica de Temane will produce electricity in a combined cycle generation model based on natural gas which will be supplied to EDM for distribution in the national market. Any surplus will be exported to the region.

14,000 IDPs

Close to 14,000 displaced residents have already returned to Mocímboa da Praia, after having left the district in search of safety following terrorist attacks, Notícias reports, citing District Secretary João Saraiva, who said that people continue to arrive, especially from neighbouring Palma district. Saraiva highlighted the villages of Awasse and Diaca, where around 7,000 and 6,000 people have returned, respectively. “But we also have the Quelimane and Maputo villages, on the Mocímboa da Praia-Palma road, where people are arriving every day,” he said.

The permanent secretary said that in the district headquarters, in addition to employees guaranteeing basic services, there were also members of the public, some of them hired by the companies rehabilitating and cleaning the town. Before the terrorist attacks, Mocímboa da Praia boasted 713 civil servants, with Education and Health sectors predominating, but, after the terrorist attacks, almost all state employees fled the district.

“After security was re-established, thanks to the work of the Defence and Security Forces, with the support of SADC and Rwandan troops, officials were urged to return to the district in order to guarantee the functioning of basic services,” Saraiva said. But the mass return is challenging for the district government, and the authorities are working to rapidly re-establish basic services and support residents in organising villages themselves.

Saraiva stressed, however, that there are still areas people are afraid to return to, such as Mbau administrative post, where the terrorists had once set up important bases. “We don’t have people in Mbau yet,” he confessed.Another challenge indicated by the permanent secretary is the roads connecting parts of the district which, having been neglected for three years, are in also need of rehabilitation.

 

 

conditions for resumption of TotalEnergies-led Mozambique LNG project

A verification team is working in Cabo Delgado with a view to ascertaining the necessary safety conditions for the resumption of the TotalEnergies-led Rovuma Basin liquified natural  gas project. The guarantee was given on Thursday by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, who added that the government wanted to see operations resume as soon as possible.

“The security situation in the area where the TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil projects will be implemented has, in our view, improved a lot. Naturally, before resuming activities, there will be a lot of scrutiny on the part of the companies carrying out the investments,” Minister Zacarias said in Vilankulo district, Inhambane province. The minister was in Inhambane province to monitor the government’s Five Year Program (PQG), specifically in the area of oil and gas, energy and mines.

Carlos Zacarias said that, although the government considered that the conditions for the resumption of the project were improving, it was up to the company to verify if, from its point of view ,the environment to recommence activities was in place. The restoration of security in the district of Palma has permitted the return of some of the residents and the resumption of some economic activities. According to Minister Zacarias, in the same way that the population was gradually returning following the improvement of security conditions, economic enterprises could also do so. The minister noted that it was not just the TotaEnergies project that had been suspended, but also many others, such as the roads under construction in various locations.

In April last year, the multinational Total announced the withdrawal of all personnel from its LNG project in Afungi. The Mozambique LNG offshore project, valued at around US$20 billion, aims to extract about 13.12 million tonnes of recoverable gas over 25 years and generate profits of US$60.8 billion, half of which will go to the Mozambican state. Total E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total SE, operates the Mozambique LNG project, with a 26.5% equity interest, together with ENH Rovuma Area 1, S.A. (15%), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limited (20%), ONGC Videsh Rovuma Limited (10%), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (10%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10%), and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Limited (8.5%).

 

 

 

 

 

Nyusi denies role of religion in Cabo Delgado conflict

Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, said on Saturday that religious institutions have been playing an important role in consolidating peace and denied that inter-religious conflict has played any role in the terrorism that has been plaguing parts of the northern province od Cabo Delgado since 2017.

“A great effort is being made to push the country towards inter-religious conflicts, as in the case of Cabo Delgado”, he said. “But this is not what is happening on the ground. There is no inter-religious conflict in the northern districts of Cabo Delgado. There is terrorism”. The president, who was speaking on Saturday during the inauguration of a chapel of the Old Apostolic Church of Mozambique, in the southern city of Matola, stressed that the government will continue to make efforts to strengthen social cohesion and consolidate real and lasting peace. “There has been an attempt, by a certain group of Mozambicans, to link terrorism to an alleged inter-religious conflict, and this could jeopardize national unity”, said Nyusi.

Nyusi also condemned some heinous crimes that have shocked the country, such as the recent tragedy in Maluana, in Maputo province, where alleged thieves were buried alive. “One of the situations that shocked me the most and that requires collective reflection was what happened in Maputo province, where human beings were buried by fellow human beings while still alive. Nothing justifies taking the law into one’s own hands”, Nyusi appealed.

The President highlighted the active role of the Old Apostolic Church and all religious congregations in the country in promoting the spirit and culture of peace and reconciliation. “Religion should instil in citizens respect for human life, respect for the elderly, respect for other people’s heritage, rules that are contained in the sacred books and the laws of men”, he stressed. For his part, the leader of the Old Apostolic Church in Mozambique, Apostle Jaime César Matsombe, delivered to the President a donation consisting of 400 zinc plates, 200 blankets, and a wide range of school material for the victims of terrorism in Cabo Delgado.