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Mozambique LNG restart delayed by contract complications— TotalEnergies

Published

2 years ago

April 27, 2023

French multinational, TotalEnergies has reacted to the remark by Mozambique President, Filipe Nyusi on improved conditions for restart of business. The oil firm says the restart of its $20 billion Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is being delayed by contract complications.

President Nyusi on Wednesday assured TotalEnergies that the country was now safe to restart the Cabo Delgado liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, stated to investors on Thursday that because the security situation had calmed, cost considerations were now the final thing to be done before Mozambique LNG was restarted.

“We need the contractors to be reasonable, some of them are not … and have tried to benefit from the situation,” Pouyanne said.

“There is no way for us to accept some undue costs – we have paid what we have had to pay because we stopped the project and have to restart, we don’t see why we should pay more than that. So that’s where we are.”

Pouyanne said on Thursday he was not worried by the project’s delay, and that so far no buyers who have pre-signed to take the gas have exercised their right to withdraw.

“If some buyers prefer to withdraw we are ready to take more, so we are open to that, but some Japanese buyers are also ready to take more … there is some appetite in the market, the project is well located directly on the Indian Ocean,” Pouyanne said.

An insurgency in the province of northern Mozambique linked to the Islamic State claimed hundreds of lives and stopped the $20 billion LNG project in which TotalEnergies holds a 26.5% share initially slated to deliver its first LNG cargo in 2024, with plans to produce up to 43 million tonnes of gas annually.

Related Topics:Featured Mozambique TotalEnergies

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.