Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and partners reached a milestone in the development of natural gas from the Golfinho and Atum fields in Mozambique’s Offshore Area 1, having gained approval of field development plans from the government.

The fields are part of Anadarko’s plans for Mozambique LNG, one of the first subsea developments offshore the east African country. By tying the subsea wells to shore via a subsea gathering system, capable of handling about 57 MMcm/d (2 Bcf/d) of gas, Anadarko and partners will help put Mozambique on the map as a global LNG supplier.

The development takes shape as forecasts show LNG demand will outpace supply.

The Mozambique LNG development and fields are located in proximity to key markets that include Europe, the Middle East, South America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Anadarko, the operator, said on March 5 the onshore part of the LNG project will initially have two LNG trains to support development of the Golfinho and Atum fields, which would also supply about 3 MMcm/d (100 MMcf/d) total for the domestic market. The two LNG trains have a nameplate capacity of 12.88 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), but the project could be expanded to up to 50 mtpa.

“The approval of the development plan continues advancement toward a final investment decision [FID] as it builds upon other recent achievements, including the announcement of our long-term SPA [sale and purchase agreement] with EDF, commencement of resettlement and our ongoing work to secure project financing,” Mitch Ingram, executive vice president of international and deepwater operations and project management for Anadarko, said in a company statement.

During Anadarko’s latest earnings call, the company said it had put the foundational legal and contractual framework in place and started onshore site prep work with its partners as it continues to negotiate with buyers to bring the development closer to FID.

“We agreed to key terms subject to final approval, including volume and price for approximately 5 million tonnes per annum of LNG offtake. This puts us more than half way to our FID target of 8.5 million tonnes per annum,” Ingram said on the earnings call in February.

He later added that Anadarko has seen the project gain credibility in the market and gain support as the company and partners hit milestones. Delivery of the first cargoes is anticipated about five years after sanction, which Ingram said is a typical time line for developing a greenfield LNG project.

“Once the first two trains are online the potential for peak delivery and scalability of Prosperidade is phenomenal,” he said. “The long-term outlook for Area 1 is expected to deliver stable production volumes, more than 1 billion barrels of net recoverable resource and superior free cash flow. We’re excited about the value that a project of this scale brings to Anadarko’s portfolio.”

Anadarko has a 26.5% working interest in Offshore Area 1 through its subsidiary Anadarko Moçambique Área 1. Partners are ENH Rovuma Área Um (15%), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 Ltd. (20%), ONGC Videsh Ltd. (10%), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Ltd. (10%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10%) and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Ltd. (8.5%).

Offshore