Communication - Presse
TotalEnergies and Saipem on Hiring Spree as Mozambique LNG Set to Resume
TotalEnergies boss Patrick Pouyanné‘s visit to the Afungi peninsula in Cabo Delgado on 9 February sparked a new dynamic for the development of the Mozambique LNG mega-complex, as Africa Intelligence predicted (AI, 27/01/23).
Work was halted in December 2020 for security reasons, and the project was officially declared under force majeure the following April. But now the project to build two 13m tonne gas liquefaction trains is almost back on track.
The official lifting of force majeure is not expected to happen for a few weeks, after the completion of a humanitarian assessment report by the former French ambassador to Senegal, Jean-Christophe Rufin. But all TotalEnergies subcontractors have already resumed their activities, in particular the partners in the CCS joint venture comprising Saipem, McDermott International and Chiyoda.
Saipem boss Alessandro Puliti, during a presentation last month of his firm’s 2022 results, mentioned July as the date for work on the mega-project to fully resume.
In order to be ready the day TotalEnergies gives the green light, the Saipem group, which is responsible for offshore gas recovery systems, has started hiring again, particularly from Italy. The French major for its part is using headhunters to rebuild its team.
Besides TotalEnergies with its 26.5%, Mozambique LNG’s other partners are Japan’s Mitsui with 20%, Thailand’s PTTEP with 8.5%, and India’s ONGC, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Oil India with 10% each. The Mozambican state has a 15% stake via its Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH).
