The Mozambique government has passed a decree law that allows the start of construction work to develop the Rovuma Area-1 gas field off Mozambique, offshore the coasts of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania. The Rovuma Area 1 is estimated to hold recoverable resources of at least 2.1 bcm (75 tcf) of gas. First gas production is expected in 2020 and will be turned into LNG thanks to two LNG trains with a capacity of 6 Mt/year. The project will have an ultimate capacity to produce 20 Mt/year.
The US-based company Anadarko, the operator, and its partners will invest US$24bn in producing natural gas from the Rovuma Area 1 field and converting it into LNG for export. The partners have so far committed US$16bn and expect to achieve financial closure of the remaining by the end of 2015.
Anadarko holds a 26.5% stake in the project, while its partner are the Indian firms ONGC Videsh Ltd (16%), BPCL (10%), Oil India Ltd (4%), Mitsui (20%), ENH (15%) and PTTEP (8.5%).