US energy giant Exxon Mobil says production at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northern Mozambique could start before the end of the decade.
Work on the plant, in Cabo Delgado, has been on hold since 2020 because of security concerns in the area following a spate of terrorist attacks.
However, the company’s vice-president for oil and gas exploration, Peter Clarke, said last month that the security situation has since “been very well managed.”
[See more: Mozambique signs an energy cooperation agreement with CNPC]
According to news outlet All Africa, this is the first time Exxon has given a timeline for the start of production at the facility, which is expected to yield 18 million tonnes of LNG annually.
Almost US$2 billion have been invested in hydrocarbon exploration projects in Mozambique since 2006, with the state-owned energy company ENH responsible for about a tenth of that sum and the rest coming from multinational oil and gas companies, All Africa says.
Investment reportedly peaked in 2013, with US$545.5 million ploughed into exploration. It fell to just over US$5.8 million in 2018, following the attacks by Islamist militants.
