French Total Signs Mozambique LNG Finance Deal

French major Total has signed a $14.9bn senior debt financing agreement for Mozambique LNG – the country's first such export facility and Africa's biggest such deal – it said July 17. The debt covers three quarters of the total cost.

It includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in Offshore Area 1 concession and the construction of a two-train liquefaction plant with a total capacity of 13.1mn metric tons (mt)/yr. 

Mozambique LNG represents a total post-final investment decision investment of $20bn. The project financing includes direct and covered loans from eight export credit agencies, 19 commercial bank facilities, and a loan from the African Development Bank. 

The ECAs participating in the financing include Export Import Bank of the US, Japan Bank for International Corporation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, UK Export Finance, Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero of Italy, Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa, Atradius Dutch State Business and Export-Import Bank of Thailand.

Total's CFO Jean-Pierre Sbraire said that the agreement was signed less than one year after assuming the role of operator of Mozambique LNG and showed the confidence placed by the financial institutions in the long-term future of LNG in Mozambique.

The previous operator, Anadarko, which discovered the gas, was bought by Occidental Petroleum, which sold the project on to Total.

Total is operator with 26.5%; state upstream regulator ENH Rovuma Area Um has 15%; Japanese Mitsui has 20%; India's ONGC Videsh Rovuma, Beas Mozambique and BPRL Ventures each have 10%; and Thai PTTEP has the remaining 8.5%.