Exxon Gives Contract for Africa’s Largest Private Project

Exxon Mobil has awarded a JGC Corporation-led group a contract to develop its Mozambique liquefied natural-gas project, which is set to be the biggest-ever private investment in Africa.

Japanese company JGC will be joined by Fluor and TechnipFMC  to develop the Rovuma LNG project, Exxon Senior Vice President for LNG Peter Clarke said on the 8^th October in the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

The facility will cost between US$27 billion and US$33 billion, according to March estimates by Johannesburg-based Standard Bank Group Ltd.

Preliminary activities costing about US$500 million will start soon, according to Mr Clarke.

A final investment decision is expected next year, and production will probably start in 2025, Mr Clarke said.

The government approved sales and purchase agreements for the gas, Exxon said, adding it has adequate buying commitments to enable the project to close financing.

Rovuma’s planned output is 15.2 million tons of LNG per year, higher than a nearby project that Total SA is developing with capacity of 12.9 million tons.

Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries, is looking to the projects to uplift its US$15 billion economy.

Exxon’s announcement comes before the south-east African nation holds a vote next week in which President Filipe Nyusi is seeking re-election.

Mr Nyusi, whose campaign will be boosted by progress on gas investments, has struggled to quell an insurgency which has rocked the gas-rich region over the past two years.

Source: Rigzone