Team News Riveting
Mumbai, April 28
Oil India Limited (OIL), the National Oil Company of India said that due to the evolving security situation at the Palma area (North of Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique), TOTAL (the Operator of Area 1 Mozambique LNG Project) had evacuated all the Mozambique LNG project personnel and contractors from the Project area.
Subsequently, Operator has declared Force Majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract), the company said in a regulatory filing today. Oil India Limited is closely monitoring the situation, it added.
Last week hundreds of militants stormed Palma, rampaging shops, banks and a military barracks. Seven people were killed while trying to escape a siege on a hotel. The IS had been leading an insurgency in the resource rich but predominantly Muslim region since 2017. The fighting has left more than 2,500 people dead while an estimated 700,000 have been displaced.
The Mozambique Oil and Gas Chamber had said that the attacks were aimed at disrupting the project which “will fundamentally recast the fortunes of Mozambique from one of the poorest countries in the world to possibly a middle-income country.”
OIL is a Sponsor in Area 1 Block, through its 40 per cent shareholding in BREML, which holds a 10 per cent Participating Interest in Area 1. The remaining 60 per cent shares in BREML are held by ONGC Videsh Limited.
The Project is Operated by Total E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total SE, with 26.5 percent working interest. Co-venturers include ENH Rovuma Área Um, S.A. (15 percent), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 Limited (20 per cent), ONGC Videsh Rovuma Limited (10 percent), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (10 percent), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10 per cent), and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Limited (8.5 percent).
