Oil Prompts European Union to Boost Mozambique's Security

The European Union (EU) has announced plans to increase its financial support towards a military mission in Mozambique in a bid to ensure large-scale natural gas projects are brought online as soon as possible.

With an Islamic insurgency disrupting several gas projects underway in the country, the funding will significantly improve security, ensuring developments get back on track and that new supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) hit the global market.

Following the discovery of over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources in Mozambique, international majors announced development plans through the construction of large-scale LNG projects. These include TotalEnergies’ Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin, where the French-based company is constructing a 13 million ton per annum onshore LNG facility; ExxonMobil’s Rovuma LNG Liquefaction plant, set to utilize gas from the Mamba Complex of Offshore Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin and the Coral South Project and the Coral-Sul floating LNG facility developed by Italy’s Eni.

In 2021, however, TotalEnergies declared force majeure while ExxonMobil extended the timeline for a final investment decision, citing threats to security owing to the insurgency. The only project to remain on track was the Coral-Sul project, which expects first export in October 2022 following the introduction of first hydrocarbons to the platform in June 2022. 

However, with the funding – which the EU is looking at increasing fivefold – all three companies and their partners will be in a better position to resume operations. At a time when global demand for alternative gas supplies skyrockets as international markets attempt to reduce their reliance on Russian gas, Mozambique’s gas resources will be key for meeting demand and stabilizing prices.