Mozambique’s President and Total CEO Discuss Security Issues

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has granted an audience in Maputo to the chairperson and Chief Executive Office of the French oil and gas company, Total, Patrick Pouyanne, and the two men agreed on strengthening security at the Total camp on the Afungi peninsula, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Nyusi’s office, the meeting also discussed the latest developments in implementing the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project under implementation at Afungi by a consortium headed by Total.

“Among other matters, questions were discussed concerning security in the northern area of Cabo Delgado, which has been the target of terrorist attacks”, said the statement. Nyusi and Pouyanne agreed on the need to draw up a security plan that guarantees implementation of the LNG project without any further upsets.

Nyusi’s delegation at the meeting included Defence Minister Jaime Neto, Interior Minister Amade Miquidade and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Max Tonela.

Earlier this month, Total evacuated part of the project’s workforce from Afungi because of security concerns.

The evacuation was precipitated by attempted terrorist infiltration into Quitunda, the resettlement town for people displaced by the LNG project. According to Cabo Delgado police spokesperson Ernesto Madungue, the islamist terrorists were infiltrating armed men into Quitunda in preparation for an attack.

Madungue said that, when the police discovered the terrorist infiltration, they went to the house where the infiltrators were hiding on New Years Day. They were met with shots, and returned fire. In this clash, according to Madungue, one terrorist informant was killed and a policeman was injured.

A statement from total at the time said “given the evolution of the security situation in Cabo Delgado province and in Palma district”, the company had decided “to reduce the number of staff present at the project site in Afungi. The demobilisation is under way in an organised manner and in accordance with the established protocols”.

Instability in the area has concerned the Mozambican authorities, since the LNG project is the largest foreign investment in the country ever, mobilising an estimated 23 billion US dollars, 16 billion financed by various banks, and the rest coming from the capital of the consortium partners themselves.

Total E&P Mozambique Area 1, Limitada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total, operates the Mozambique LNG project, in Area One of the Rovuma Basin, with a holding of 26.5 per cent. The other members of the consortium are Mitsui of Japan (20 per cent), PTTEP of Thailand (8.5 per cent), the Indian companies ONGC Videsh Rovuma Limited., Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited and BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10 per cent each) and Mozambique’s own National Hydrocarbon Company, ENH (15 per cent).

Terrorist attacks by fundamentalists linked to the self-styled “Islamic State” began with attacks on police premises in Mocimboa da Praia district on October 2017, and then spread to several other districts in the north and centre of the province.

The raiders have burnt down villages, beheaded many of their victims, and are thought to have killed about 2,000 people. An estimated 550,000 people have been driven from their homes, and are now entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Senegal Plans 2023 Start for $4.3bn BP-Kosmos Gas Project

The Grand Tortue Ahmeyim gas field development, straddling the offshore waters of Mauritania and Senegal, is expected to produce its first gas in 2023 following delays related to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Senegal’s Oil Minister Sophie Gladima.

The two countries and international oil companies BP Plc and Kosmos Energy Ltd. are collaborating on the $4.8 billion project set to produce 2.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually and 70 million cubic feet of natural gas a day in its first phase, to be equally shared between Senegal and Mauritania, Gladima said in response to emailed questions.

“The start of the pandemic coincided with a key period corresponding to the development of the oil and gas fields,” she said. “Many development-related activities, such as the mobilization of resources and people, the construction phases on various sites around the world and installations were affected.”

The delay from a planned 2022 start has denied Senegal much-needed oil and gas revenues as its economy seeks to recover from the impact of the pandemic, which pushed down its 2020 economic growth target to 0.7%. Between 2014 and 2017, reserves of more than 1 billion barrels of oil and 40,000 billion cubic feet of gas were found in Senegal — most of them shared with Mauritania, according to the International Monetary Fund.

That’s prompted Senegal to be hailed as one of the region’s most promising new producers and a possible future member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“Any talk of joining any international organization or not is premature,” said Gladima. “Senegal is focused on the development of its oil projects to meet its objective of starting production from 2023,” she said. The resources will be used “to build an economy that’s connected and competitive,” through the reduction of electricity costs, the development of local content, and industrialization.

Cheaper Power

Power plants run by the state-owned Senelec and independent producers such as Turkey’s Karpowership are expected to switch from heavy fuel to gas after gas-to-power projects are completed, President Macky Sall said at a climate conference in October.

“There’s a lot resting on gas-to-power,” said Kissy Agyemang-Togobo, a managing partner at Songhai Advisory Group Ltd. “Electricity is expensive in Senegal — the cost of production is high,” with many plants running on imported fuel, she said.

Senegal’s Sangomar project, developed by Perth, Australia-based Woodside Energy, with an estimated production capacity of 75,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil per day, is also set to start production in 2023, Gladima said. The $4.2 billion project will receive 18% of its funding from state-owned oil company Petrosen, she said.

The country had already started to reap benefits from its discoveries when the pandemic hit. The government’s revenues from the hydrocarbons sector reached 22.8 billion CFA francs ($42.5 million) in 2019, a 37% increase from 2018, according to a report by the National Committee of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The rise that year was driven by a tax adjustment of 5.21 billion CFA francs paid by Kosmos Energy.

Another gas field, Yakaar-Teranga, a resource of 15 to 20 trillion cubic feet, seeks to start production in 2023 or 2024, she said.

Angola: China Sonangol International Privatisation May Begin this Year

Daniel Terungwa

The selling process of the oil company (Sonangol)’s stake in China International Holding (CSIH) may begin this year, according to the Privatisation Programme (Propriv) underway in the country.

China Sonangol International Holding which was created in 2004, has been based in Hong Kong, since September 6, 2012.

CSIH is owned by Dayuan International Development Limited (70 percent), with the Angolan company holding a 30 percent minority stake.

According to the privatisation schedule of the assets and stakes held by the oil company in Angolan and foreign companies, presented at a methodology seminar in 2019, this year, the oil company will also begin disinvestment at China Sonangol International Limited.

2021 programme also include the disinvestment process at Empresa Nacional de Combustíveis e Óleos S.A (ENCO), based in São Tomé and Príncipe.

Angolan oil company is expected to sell 70 assets, in a list of 195 companies and assets to be privatised by 2022.

Of this number, 50 are under direct control of its administration.

In addition to Angola, Sonangol’s assets and holdings are found in Portugal, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Ivory Coast, Singapore, Cabo Verde and Panama.

Of the 195 assets and holdings in various branches, the provisional figure pointed to the sale of 36 assets and accumulated contracts till December.

The process allowed the collection of 355 billion kwanzas in privatisations.

In November 2020, the Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury and Coordinator of the Propiv Technical Group, Osvaldo João, on behalf of the Angolan State, announced very concrete steps in 2021 towards the privatisation of assets and holdings.

The state expects the companies to have their started privatisation processes of 195 assets and participations, to be launched in this period of 2022.

Among the privatised firms, through public tender, include 13 industrial units located in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Luanda-Bengo, whose awards resulted in AKz 30 billion contracts.

In addition, 12 agro-industrial enterprises were awarded in public tender, including two silos and a tomato processing plant in Dombe Grande in Benguela.

Just two contracts of the abovementioned establishments, raised a total of 2 billion Kwanzas.

The remaining nine assets were not awarded in electronic auctions or for other rules of procedures in the Privatisation Law.

The list of companies to be privatised include the “giants” TAAG – Angola Airlines, ENSA – Angola Insurance, Bodiva – Angolan Securities Exchange, and other companies in the transport sector, mining resources, telecommunications, as well as the financial sector.

ACROSS AFRICA

Morocco, Nigeria Renew Commitment to Gas Pipeline, Fertilizer Plant Projects

King Mohammed VI held a telephone conversation on January 31, with President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari, a statement from Morocco’s Royal Cabinet announced.

During the call, the two heads of state welcomed the positive dynamic that bilateral relations between Morocco and Nigeria have witnessed since 2016.

They recalled King Mohammed VI’s visit to Nigeria in December 2016, which marked the beginning of a new page in bilateral ties, as well as Buhari’s visit to Morocco in June 2018, which confirmed the new momentum.

The two leaders expressed their common determination to pursue and materialize their strategic joint projects, notably the creation of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, as well as a Moroccan fertilizer plant in Nigeria.

The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in West Africa.

When finalized, the pipeline would cover a 5,660-kilometer-long route, contouring the Atlantic coast from Lagos, in southwestern Nigeria, to Tangier, in northern Morocco. It would carry natural gas from Nigeria through 11 West African countries, up to Morocco and Spain.

The project was first announced on the sidelines of King Mohammed VI’s visit to Nigeria in 2016. Morocco’s National Office for Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) signed an agreement on the project in 2017.

In 2019, the two partners carried out a feasibility study estimating that the project would be completed in stages in 25 years. The study also estimated the pipeline to cost approximately $25 billion.

The second project that King Mohammed VI and President Buhari discussed, the fertilizer plant, will be a subsidiary of Morocco’s phosphate company OCP. The project was also announced during the King’s visit to Abuja.

Morocco is set to supply the Nigerian plant with phosphoric acid to produce fertilizers for the benefit of local farmers. The factory, meanwhile, would supply Morocco with ammonia.

Located in southeastern Nigeria, the $1.3 billion plant is expected to become operational in late 2023.

While the fertilizer plant is OCP’s landmark project in Nigeria, the Moroccan company has launched in recent years several other initiatives in the West African country. The initiatives include training programs for local farmers, agronomic trials, and soil testing. Concluding the telephone conversation, President Buhari thanked King Mohammed VI and Morocco for their efforts in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

Buhari especially mentioned the training of Nigerian Imams (Islamic leaders) at the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Mourchidines, and Mourchidates (Islamic preachers) in Rabat.

The Nigerian leader considered the religious training that Morocco provides as a barrier against the influence of extremism that stems from religious misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

Yesterday’s phone call proves once again that relations between Morocco and Nigeria are still on their upward trend.

For a long time, Nigeria challenged Morocco’s territorial integrity and expressed support for the separatist Polisario Front. However, the royal visit to Abuja in 2016 marked a shift in Moroccan-Nigerian dynamics.

Today, while Nigeria still nominally recognizes the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, it does not express support for separatism in Western Sahara. Instead, the West African country voices support for the UN-led process in the region.

FDI: Belgian Investors Watching Nigeria’s Maritime Transport Policy Closely

The National Maritime Transport Policy being developed by Nigeria is of interest in Belgium for windows of investment opportunity. Executive officers of the Port of Antwerp International stated this in Lagos during a meeting with Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh.

Jamoh said there were huge opportunities for investment in wreck removal and recycling, stressing that the Federal Government is planning a coordinated wreck removal policy to drive investment in the area.

The visiting team of executives from the Port of Antwerp International had sought audience with the NIMASA Director-General to follow up investment interests in Nigeria. The Managing Director of APEC-Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Centre and Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Kristof Waterschoot, and Director at Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Mario Lievens, said they were also in Nigeria to promote new partnership opportunities, especially in the area of training.

Waterschoot and Lievens, who hosted Jamoh at the Nigerian Belgian Chamber of Commerce, Onikan, Lagos, said their mission was to discuss projects of interest, including inland ports, and to strengthen the relationship between the Port of Antwerp and NIMASA, particularly in the areas of training, technical support, and cooperation.

They noted Nigeria’s proposed National Maritime Transport Policy, and said the policy was being watched as it unfolded to see how Belgium could come in with investments.

“We believe in Nigeria,” said Waterschoot, who observed that the business climate in Nigeria could be difficult, but there was hardly any country without its peculiar difficulties.

A National Maritime Transport Policy is in the works in Nigeria as part of the government’s effort to develop maritime infrastructure and diversify the oil-dependent economy. Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, told a recent stakeholders’ validation forum on the draft policy that the policy, when approved, would lead to improved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow and enhance the ability of the Nigerian maritime sector to compete at the international level.

Jamoh praised the long-standing diplomatic and economic relationship between Nigeria and Belgium. He highlighted the Federal Government’s abiding interest in diversifying the economy, saying the development of maritime infrastructure is part of the government’s economic diversification drive.

Jamoh stated, “The National Maritime Transport Policy, which is being developed, is part of a wider agenda purposed to build alternatives to oil. The maritime sector is consciously being opened for investment by local and foreign investors to build a sustainable blue economy.

“One area I would like the Belgian private sector to come in is wreck removal and wreck recycling. There is a huge investment opportunity there, and there is also a big room for collaboration. This is more so as the Federal Government is planning a coordinated policy on wreck removal.” Jamoh also sought Belgian partnership in the sea-time training of Nigerian seafarers and in the area of port safety and port security.

The Port of Antwerp International is a subsidiary of Port of Antwerp, Europe’s second largest port – after Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It was established to expand the activities of the Port of Antwerp beyond Europe through consultancy, management solutions, investment projects and training.

NPA Raises Hope on Electronic Call-up System

truck electronic call-up system, which is being powered by a web application called ‘Eto’, would put an end to the perennial logjam caused by articulated trucks within the port corridor.

She stressed that “we must put an end to the intractable Apapa traffic to restore sanity to cargo operations at our ports.”

Bala Usman said ‘Eto’ would introduce transparency and orderliness to truck movement as scheduling is done automatically on a firstcome, first-serve basis.

As the port operators celebrate the take-off of the truck electronic callup system, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, has assured port users that the irresponsible parking of trucks on the access roads would soon be a thing of the past.

Usman gave the assurance after leading a stakeholders’ facility assessment audit of the Truck Transit Park (TTP) at Lilypond, Ijora, Lagos.

The tour was to ascertain the degree of preparedness by the park towards the full commencement of the e-call up system later in the month.

The NPA boss reiterated that the She commended TTP LTD for the renovations carried out at the Lilypond Truck Transit Park facility.

Chief Operating Officer, TTP LTD Management, Temidayo Adeboye, assured truck owners and drivers of quality service delivery at the facility. He demonstrated the functionality of ‘Eto’.

MARITIME MARITIMEEnvironment Management Essential for Maritime Growth – Amaechi

Daniel Terungwa

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has identified marine environment management as a crucial factor that will enable the maritime sector to contribute to economic growth in the country.

The Minister noted that a clean and safe marine environment is the bedrock that ensures the entire maritime industry contributes significantly to the growth of a nation.

Amaechi stated this in a keynote address he presented during the formal exit from Public Service and the launch of a book by a former Marine Environment Management Department at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Felicia Mogo in Lagos.

The book titled: “Regulating the Marine Environment of Africa for Sustainable Blue Economy – the Nigeria Scenario,” was written to celebrate her exit from public service.

Amaechi who participated virtually, said: “Maritime is key to national development and we can’t talk about this without the marine environment. It is in this area that Mogo has made impressive records with over two decades spent trying to make reforms in environmental assessment, especially for the oil and gas sector.”

Noting that the usual fear of most public servants is the uncertainty of life after service, the minister stressed that the basic thing is the contribution attained during one’s service years.

“Mogo has an impressive and well documented record which is why we are celebrating her today. She is an environmentalist and her pedigree has been evident on the global terrain where she has represented Nigeria and NIMASA admirably. You can’t conclude the functions of NIMASA or talk about maritime without talking about environmental issues and you can’t ignore the contribution of Mogo in that area,” he added.

Amaechi lauded Mogo’s contributions in marine environment management, stating that the industry will better appreciate her efforts now that she has exited public service.

Earlier, the chairperson of the occasion, Dr. Anne Ene-Ita stressed that it is imperative for the government to fully explore the potential of the blue economy, noting that giving credence to Mogo’s book will be a good way to show commitment to the sector.

The former Senior Special Adviser to the President on Aviation Reforms described Mogo as a national asset and a global personality on marine environment management.

“Mogo has been an energetic and enterprising young woman since her maiden employment in the Federal Ministry of Works. This book is worth having and we need to disseminate the book at secondary and tertiary levels to get young ones involved in maritime,” she said. On his part, the High Commissioner of Kenya to Nigeria, Dr. Wilfred Machage, also graced the occasion where he posited that Mogo wasn’t only an asset to Nigeria but the African continent at large.

“There’s nothing more gratifying than sharing knowledge with a generation of young leaders who will be taking up similar roles as Mogo in both public and private sectors.

“Even upon her exit from public service, Mogo joins the coveted list of our celebrated scholars in the field of marine science and we all know that intellectuals are paragon of virtues and the cream of intelligentsia in all societies.”

According to him, the book will serve as a repertoire of knowledge, which will be an asset especially for those who are in the field of environmental science, marine ecology and general field of environmental studies.

“This important book acknowledges the importance of the marine environment and ecosystem as a life-support system for supplying resources that support livelihoods and economic development.

“African’s Agenda 2063 has identified the blue economy as the next to frontier to facilitate rapid economic transformation of the continent and of seeing the livelihoods of the present and future generations in a continent where 38 out of 55 countries are coastal states and collectively encompass vast ocean territories of an estimated 13million km,” he said.

During her 34 years of public service, Mogo served in various capacities in agencies, ministries and various international avenues contributing to the protection of Nigeria’s environment and giving the country recognition on the international level.