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The National Petroleum Institute (INP) has announced the signing of concession contracts for blocks awarded in a licensing round launched in October 2014. The INP said ExxonMobil had signed contracts on 8 October for the A5-B, Z5-C and Z5-D areas in the Angoche and Zambezi basins. Sasol Petroleum Mozambique Exploration is expected to sign for the onshore PT5-C area west of the Temane field on 15 October, and Eni will sign for the A5-A area in the Angoche Basin on 17 October.

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi on 22 August inaugurated the 106MW Maputo combined-cycle gas turbine power plant powered by gas from Sasol’s Pande and Temane fields. It was financed with a loan of up to Y17.269bn ($152m) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, plus $13m from the government of Mozambique. The plant includes two 40MW aero-derivative LM6000 gas turbines, developed and manufactured by General Electric and Japan’s IHI Corporation, and a 26MW steam turbine. A turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract was signed in February 2016 by Sumitomo and IHI.

The Eni and ExxonMobil-led Mozambique Rovuma Venture has submitted a development plan to the government for the first phase of the Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at Afungi, which will produce, liquefy and market natural gas from the Mamba fields in Area 4.The plan details the proposed design and construction of two LNG trains which will each produce 7.6m t/yr of LNG.

A ground-breaking ceremony on 29 June marked the start of work on the 40MW Central Solar de Mocuba project. Financing of the $76m project was led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). A 25-year power purchase agreement was signed with Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) in October 2016 but difficulties obtaining government guarantees delayed financial close, which was finally reached in March.

CGG has completed acquisition of 15,400km2 of 3D marine seismic data in the outer Zambezi Delta Basin, west of the Beira High. The survey area covers blocks Z5-C and Z5-D, awarded to ExxonMobil in a 2015 licensing round, and surrounding open acreage.This is the first survey to be conducted following the agreement CGG signed with the National Petroleum Institute (INP) in 2017 for the acquisition of a new multi-client programme.

Tokyo Gas Company and Centrica LNG Company have jointly signed heads of agreement (HoA) for the long-term offtake of 2.6m t/yr of liquefied natural gas from Mozambique Area 1 as operator Anadarko Petroleum prepares for a final investment decision (FID) in H1 2019. Anadarko said the agreement represented a significant portion of the sales target it had set to enable FID on the project, which would develop a two-train onshore plant at Afungi in northern Mozambique with capacity of 12.8m t/yr processing gas from the Golfinho/Atum fields.

A consortium of Globeleq and eleQtra has joined Sasol as developer of a 400MW gas-fired power project at Temane in Inhambane province, signing a joint development agreement with Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM). To date, Temane has been developed by EDM and Sasol New Energy Holdings, with EDM holding 51% and Sasol 49% in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company. EDM held a competitive bid process for bidders to take up a percentage of the SPV and selected the Globeleq-led Temane Energy Consortium (TEC) in December 2017 to take a 60% stake in EDM’s shareholding, with EDM retaining the remaining 40%.

Scores of people have been killed since late May in attacks on villages in the northern Cabo Delgado province blamed on Islamist militants. In one attack near the coastal town of Palma, the attackers abducted residents from Monjane and Ulumbi villages who were found beheaded on 27 May in nearby bush. Security forces have deployed in the area, where consortia led by Anadarko and Eni are planning big liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments.

InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, has signed a shareholder agreement with local developer Tora Holding for the 160MW Pavua multi-purpose hydropower project on the Pungué River. The agreement confirms InfraCo as the lead developer, although eleQtra is acting on InfraCo’s behalf, and as majority shareholder for the project. Pavua is located in central Mozambique along the Beira corridor.

Serious questions about stability have been raised by the death of veteran opponent Afonso Dhlakama, who was believed to be close to negotiating a definitive peace deal with President Filipe Nyusi and was set to run once more for the presidency next year as candidate of his Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo). Given his personal hold over the party, there are questions of whether Renamo will collapse following Dhlakama’s death, or whether a new generation of leaders will emerge who might continue armed resistance to the domination of the ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo).

The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy invites expressions of interest from consultants by 23 May to assist the ministry’s National Directorate of Hydrocarbons and Fuels (DNHC) with promoting large-scale gas and power investments. The aim is to provide the DNHC with expertise for the formulation of policies, strategies, programmes, plans, regulatory tools and legislation to promote research, development, production, transportation, storage, distribution and commercialisation of hydrocarbons.

A group led by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is nearing a final investment decision (FID) on the Golfinho-Atum liquefied natural gas (LNG) scheme, with long-term offtake agreements and a potential financial close finally coming into view even though sale of the full 12.8m t/yr nameplate capacity from the first two liquefaction trains is unlikely to be finalised before the key move. The Mozambique LNG (Area 1) partners have signed a long-term offtake agreement with EDF, a non-binding accord with equity partner PTTEP and a smaller contract to sell up to 280,000 t/yr for 15 years to Japan’s Tohoku Electric Power Company.

Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) invites prequalification bids by 19 June for the engineering, procurement and construction of phase 1 of the Chimuara-Nacala 400kV overhead transmission line, comprising two lots. Contractors may prequalify and bid for one or both lots and sign single or multiple contracts, according to the tender notice. The contract will be financed by the Islamic Development Bank. Lot 1 covers a 367km single-circuit 400kV line from the Chimuara substation to the Alto Molocué substation, including rerouting of existing lines.

eleQtra (Moçambique) Limitada has selected WorleyParsons Group to conduct a feasibility study to assess the viability of a 120MW wind power plant to be developed in two phases of 60MW each in the Namaacha district in southern Mozambique. The study is funded with a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

The Maputo combined-cycle gas turbine power plant has begun partial operation, Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported on 27 March. Full operation using natural gas is expected to begin in August.Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) official Narenda Gulabe told the newspaper that testing of gas injection into the system would continue until it reaches the power required for the plant to be fully operational.