The Italian Ambassador to Mozambique, Gianni Bardini, guarantees that ExxonMobil's final investment agreement for area 4 is close to being signed, but it depends on TotalEnergies returning to the Afungi logistics base in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, possibly at the end of this year.

These are two different projects in terms of size and budget, but with an (in)direct link, since both will explore hydrocarbons onshore in the same area, so the return of the first is crucial to the progress of the other.

"We hope that this signing will take place after Total announces its return. The two things are linked," said Gianni Bardini, to give an update on the state of cooperation between Mozambique and Italy, at a time when his mission in the country is coming to an end.

He explained that they are different projects. It would be difficult for ExxonMobil to start the onshore project without the other partner that came before, TotalEnergies, declaring the safety issues resolved.

"It would be difficult for an international company to make major investments, while the other major company considers that the safety conditions are not yet in place," he said.

The diplomat said he expected TotalEnergies to raise the issue of Force Majeure, a legal instrument invoked in 2021, due to the deterioration of security conditions in Cabo Delgado. The French multinational invoked that instrument to halt operations at the Mozambique LNG project, without adding any costs. Security is a fundamental condition for ExxonMobil to sign the letter of commitment.

Bardini assured that ExxonMobil is currently carrying out preliminary studies. This guarantees that the company intends to invest in the exploration of liquefied natural gas in Mozambique.

"We hope that Total will immediately terminate Force Majeure so that ExxonMobil can move forward," said the ambassador.

The letter of commitment, called the Final Investment Decision (FID), is of interest to Italy, since the oil company Eni is part of the project led by ExxonMobil. ENI operates the Coral Sul FLNG project via a floating platform. ExxonMobil will explore natural gas onshore, also in Afungi, Palma district, with a 25 percent stake.

Walter Kansteiner, head of ExxonMobil, assured the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, in Washington in April that they are still carefully analyzing the dates for making the final investment decision for the gas exploration project in Area 4 of the Rovuma Sedimentary Basin, in Cabo Delgado.

Italy is looking forward to TotalEnergies announcing its return to the Afungi logistics base later this year, not only to speed up ExxonMobil's final decision, but also because of Italy's interests in the Mozambique LNG project, through Saipem. This Italian company won the seven billion US dollar tender to implement engineering solutions for the French oil company's project.

"We're expecting Total to announce at some point that it's resuming the project and that Force Majeure will end. We have good signs that this project is finally getting ready to resume," he said.

Talking about the economic impact of the Italian presence in Mozambique, the diplomat said that it had greater visibility now, boosted by the presence of ENI, through the Coral Sul FLNG project.

Despite the hope, the ambassador is concerned about the delay in TotalEnergies' return to Afungi, precisely because Saipem has had its operations paralyzed since 2021.

In addition to hydrocarbon exploration, he pointed to the industrial presence of Bonatti, a company active in the renewable energy sector; We Build - a merger of three Italian companies that have worked in Mozambique in the construction sector; and Renco, active in Cabo Delgado with investments in port logistics.

"Renco is building in Pemba, which is already very advanced, it's an important investment. Nearly 40 million euros have already been invested in this project, but the final project will have a budget of more than 100 million euros. So let's say that the most important and biggest companies are ENI, Saipem and WeBuild," he said.

The highest Italian representative in Mozambique also spoke of the historical relations between the two states and peoples, which date back to long before independence in 1975, when leaders traveled to Italy and found political and material support from the government and civil society. (Author: AGI/MP)