Adnoc enters Mozambique with 10% stake in Galp concession

The investment, Adnoc’s first in the African country, complements the company’s efforts to expand its lower-carbon LNG portfolio

The Afungi LNG Project under construction in February. LNG is seen as a cleaner alternative to other fossil fuels, with many nations hoping to increase its share of their energy mix. Getty Images

Adnoc has acquired a 10 per cent stake in Portuguese energy company Galp’s Area 4 concession of the Rovuma Basin in Mozambique, marking its first investment in the African country.

The acquisition will entitle Adnoc to a share of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production from the concession, which has a combined production capacity of more than 25 million tonnes per annum, the Abu Dhabi-based energy company said on Wednesday.

The investment complements Adnoc's efforts to expand its lower-carbon LNG portfolio to meet growing gas demand, it said.

“Natural gas plays an important role to meet growing global demand with lower emissions compared to other fossil fuels and this acquisition supports our efforts to build an integrated global gas business,” said Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Adnoc's executive director for low carbon solutions and international growth.

The Area 4 concession includes the operational Coral South Floating LNG (FLNG) facility, the planned Coral North FLNG development and the planned Rovuma LNG onshore project.

The Coral South development, currently operational, has a production capacity of up to 3.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG. The proposed Coral North development aims to add another 3.5 mtpa of LNG through an FLNG facility, which will process and liquefy natural gas for export.

The 18-mtpa Rovuma Onshore LNG development is a modular, electric-drive design that will “dramatically” reduce the carbon intensity of the LNG it produces compared to industry benchmarks, Adnoc said.

Mozambique’s Rovuma supergiant gas basin represents one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in the past 15 years.

The latest announcement comes a couple of days after Adnoc acquired a 11.7 per cent stake in phase one of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, marking its first investment in the US.

Adnoc, responsible for almost all of the UAE’s oil production, is looking to position itself as a major player in the LNG market, as demand for the supercooled fuel is projected to grow over the next few decades.

LNG is seen as a cleaner alternative to other fossil fuels, and countries such as India and China are hoping to grow the share of natural gas in their energy mix.

Global LNG demand is projected to increase by more than 50 per cent by 2040, driven by industrial coal-to-gas switching in China and increased LNG use in South Asian and South-East Asian countries to support economic growth, according to Shell’s LNG Outlook released in February.

LNG trade is expected to reach about 625-685 million tonnes per year by 2040, from 404 million tonnes last year, the report said.