By Akanimo Sampson
After deadly attacks on a nearby coastal town of Palma, French oil and gas major, Total, is putting its restart works at the Mozambique LNG project on hold. The big oil is currently scrambling to evacuate staff from the area.
Attacks on the town, which serves as the hub for the project, began on the day that Total announced it will gradually restart work, citing government efforts to improve security in the area.
This is even as TLOU Energy is planning to raise $2.6 million for the Lesedi power project in Botswana. The funds are expected to go towards the construction of a 66KV transmission line from the project to the existing electricity grid at Serowe, and towards field operating costs and ancillary equipment.
The TLOU Energy Lesedi power project is set to be developed in two phases. Phase one involves transmission lines construction, sub-stations, grid connection, electricity generators and potentially the drilling of additional gas wells.
Initial generation is proposed to be up to 2MW of electricity. Funding required for phase one is $10 million which can be staged if necessary.
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Phase two involves the expansion of electricity generation up to 10MW. This will include drilling of gas wells and the purchase of additional generation assets. Funding required for phase two is $20 million. Upon successful completion of phase one and two, the company plans to expand the project beyond 10MW.
Early this month, the company announced that funding discussions with a number of parties were ongoing. The most advanced project finance discussions were with a very reputable Botswana based entity. Due to confidentiality the Company was unable to name the entity concerned at the time.
However, the company confirmed that their investment committee and board had discussed and were favourably disposed to Tlou’s proposal.
They were proceeding to get a third-party technical review of the project as part of their due diligence process. Once the report is assessed an investment decision can be made.
Total had announced a gradual resumption of works after the government of Mozambique initiated additional security measures on the Afungi Peninsula, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, the government had declared the area of the Mozambique LNG Project as a special security zone.
“A road map has been drawn up with measures and actions seeking to restore and strengthen security. These measures include increasing the size of the contingent of the Mozambican defence and security forces stationed at Afungi. They will allow the gradual return of the workers who had been evacuated, and the resumption of construction activities”, the statement says.
The statement further added that, control over the Afungi special security area continues to be guaranteed exclusively by the public security forces under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the government and Total. The special security area covers the zone within a 25km perimeter around the LNG project.
Work on the multi-billion project was interrupted at the end of December 2020, due to security threats in the immediate vicinity. Since then the government and Total have been working to draw up a plan of action to strengthen security around the site and the neighbouring villages.
