Mozambique Oil & Gas: LNG study agreement signed between ENH and Shell

Mozambique’s Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) and Royal Dutch Shell signed recently in Maputo a memorandum of understanding to carry out a study for a GTL (gas-to-liquid) project, and the development of hydrocarbon exploration activities in Mozambique.

The memorandum was signed by the Chairperson of the ENH Board of Directors, Nelson Ocuane, and by Edward Daniels, the Shell Executive Vice President for Downstream Technology. It was witnessed by Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias.

The partnership will take off with the viability study to identify the potential for a GTL factory. This will form the basis for the development of other areas, including the supply of associated gas and infrastructures, as well as joint negotiations to acquire hydrocarbon exploration rights.

Speaking immediately after signing the memorandum, Ocuane said the agreement is part of ENH’s efforts to become a prominent and integrated hydrocarbon company, operating in Mozambique and in other countries.

“Our mission is to add value to the country’s natural resources, and a GTL project is an adequate response, since it allows the development of the gas chain in a cascade, with the production of diesel, synthetic fuels, and polyethylene, among other derivatives, in one and the same plant”, he said

For his part, Daniels said he hoped that Shell will work together with ENH to study opportunities for further development and diversification of the gas industry in Mozambique.

“Shell brings experience of more than 50 years in developing gas projects using our global reach, our financial solidity and our advanced technological capacities”, he said.

This memorandum of understanding was preceded by an agreement for a joint study to identify areas of high hydrocarbon potential in Mozambique. In future the two companies may acquire joint rights in the hydrocarbon area.

Shell claims to be a world leader in GTL technology, with more than 40 years of experience in this field. It built the first commercial GTL plant in Malaysia in 1993, and in 2011 it began production in the largest GTL plant in the world, in Qatar, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum.(AIM)