[2019-08-26] US bank wants to fund a natural gas project in Mozambique

Source: Macauhub

The US Export and Import Bank will notify Congress of a projected US$5 billion loan to support the export of goods and services for the development and construction of the liquefied natural gas project located in the Afungi peninsula in the Cabo Delgado province of northern Mozambique, according to a statement issued in Washington.

“The loan, if approved, will support US exports of goods and services for the engineering and construction of a liquefied natural gas plant and its facilities,” the statement said, pointing out that US exports are facing direct competition from financing provided by other foreign export credit agencies.

Funding of about US$5 billion, “can support the creation of 16,400 jobs during the plant’s five years of construction,” along with thousands of more jobs created in the country and US$600 million in revenue to US taxpayers, according to the same statement.

The development plan for the Rovuma Basin Area 1 block in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province, is estimated to cost US$25 billion, and next to the factory, alongside two processing units, a wharf will be built to accommodate freight ships to transport liquefied natural gas mainly to Asian markets (China, Japan, India, Thailand and Indonesia), but also to European markets through Electricité de France (EDF), Shell and Centrica.

The Anadarko Petroleum Corporation group still operates the block through its wholly-owned subsidiary Anadarko Mozambique Área 1, Ltd, with 26.5%, where its partners were ENH Rovuma Área Um, a subsidiary of the Mozambican state-owned Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), with 15%, Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 Ltd. (20%), ONGC Videsh Ltd. (10%), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (10%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10%), and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Limited (8.5%).