ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas senior vice president Peter Clarke said on Tuesday 11 July at a conference in Vancouver, Canada, that the Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Mozambique is on track to gain final approval in 2025.
“A lot depends on the security situation, which has been very well managed. The local government is doing a good job and we expect to see more positive news in that regard by the end of the year,” Mr Clarke said, as quoted by Bloomberg.
The agency explains that this is the first time ExxonMobil has set a clear timeline for the project since it revived plans to build the onshore plant that was paralysed in 2020 due to an Islamic State-linked insurgency that heightened security concerns. An approval by 2025 would put the project on track to start up by the end of the decade. Originally conceived as a plant that would produce 15.2 million tonnes of gas a year, ExxonMobil now envisions the plant producing up to 18 million tonnes.
“The company aims to double its LNG portfolio, which currently stands at 24 million tonnes per year globally, by 2030 through new projects, joint ventures or third-party purchase agreements,” Clarke noted.
The ExxonMobil official also emphasised that “the Papua LNG project in New Guinea has advanced to the engineering and design phase. The final investment decision for the six million tonnes per year gas plant could be made in early 2024, with start-up in 2028. The organisation is selectively reviewing other LNG projects in the United States of America (USA) for potential expansion of its supply portfolio.”
