Wed 02 September 2020:
Cabo Delgado is now home to Africa’s three largest liquid natural gas (LNG) projects: the Mozambique LNG Project (Total, formerly Anadarko) worth $20bn, Coral FLNG Project (ENI and ExxonMobil) worth $4.7bn, and Rovuma LNG Project (ExxonMobil, ENI and CNPC) worth $30bn.
When, in 2010, US energy company Anadarko found major gas reserves off the coast of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, many hoped that the discovery was going to bring prosperity to the impoverished region. The following year, Italy’s ENI also found a massive gas field in the area.
Since then Mozambique has seen an influx of foreign energy companies fishing for lucrative contracts: Anadarko, Total – which in 2019 bought Anadarko’s assets in Mozambique – ENI, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and others.
But, despite the billions in investments these contracts have brought, the people of Cabo Delgado are yet to see any benefit from them. In fact, some have already suffered immensely from the arrival of the gas industry.
Twitter: @ilhamsta
Ilham Rawoot works for Friends of the Earth Mozambique (Justica Ambiental , and is the coordinator of the No to Gas! Campaign. She is a freelance journalist with a focus on the extractive industry, climate justice, and corporate human rights abuses.
Courtesy: Radio Islam International
