LNG

Oil India Limited, the state-owned oil and natural gas company and a stakeholder in Mozambique LNG, posted 13.5 percent higher quarterly net profits while revenues also rose, helped by higher crude prices offsetting lower natural gas values.

The company, which traces its roots to the first discovery of the crude oil in India at Digboi in Assam in 1889, is the nation’s second-largest exploration and production company after Oil and National Gas Corp. (ONGC) and the net profits in the quarter to the end of March 2024 were its highest ever.

Oil India said fourth-quarter net profits came to 2,029 crore Indian rupees ($243.5M) compared with 1,788 crore rupees ($214.6M) in the prior-year quarter.

The company said quarterly earnings per share increased to 18.71 rupees from 14.61 rupees per share.

Mozambique plans

Serious moves had recently been underway to resume the TotalEnergies-led project development.

Oil India’s stake in Mozambican LNG is in the Area 1 Rovuma Basin licence operated by TotalEnergies and centred on the long delayed liquefaction plant construction on the Afungi Peninsula in Cabo Delgado province.

Other overseas stakes are held by Japan's Mitsui with 20 percent stake and three Indian companies, ONGC Videsh, Bharat PetroResources and Beas Rovuma Energy each have a 10 percent and Thailand's PTTEP owns 8.5 percent.

Oil India is involved in the Area 1 Block through its 40 percent shareholding in Beas Rovuma Energy.

In its earnings statement, Oil India said revenues for the quarter increased to 5,757 crore rupees ($691M), up from the 5,646 crore rupees ($677M) earned in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The company reported annual fiscal-year revenues of 22,129 crore rupees ($2.65 billion) versus 23,259 crore rupees ($2.79Bln) in the previous 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Annual fiscal-year net profits dropped to 5,551 crore rupees ($666M) from 6,810 crore rupees ($817M) in the previous year.

Earnings per share for the year declined to 51.20 rupees per share from 62.80 rupees per share.

Crude prices

The company, whose headquarters are in Noida in the state of Uttar Pradesh, said that global crude oil prices jumped during March, benefiting the company's bottom line.

Oil India's crude oil division accounts for more than 70 percent of total revenue and natural gas for much of the rest.

“We achieved a growth in our natural gas production during the fourth quarter by 3.21 percent over the corresponding quarter of FY23 and the company achieved the highest ever domestic natural gas production of 3.182 billion cubic metres,” India Oil said.

Annual crude oil revenues declined to 16,123 crore rupees ($1.93Bln) compared with 16,787 crore rupees in the previous fiscal year.

Natural gas revenues for the year came to 5,189 crore ($623M), down from 5489 crore rupees ($659M) in the previous year.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi confirmed that Islamist terrorists had occupied the town of Macomia in a northern part of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s province where an onshore LNG plant is being constructed further south and may now face more delays.

TotalEnergies, the developer of the onshore Mozambique liquefied natural gas project in southeast Africa, said it rejected a complaint filed against it in a Paris court alleging manslaughter and a failure to assist people in danger during the terrorist attacks that took place in northern Mozambique in March and April 2021.

Italian energy company Eni said the “Coral-Sul FLNG” production vessel offshore Mozambique has started receiving hydrocarbons from the Rovuma Basin ahead of using liquefaction capacity for annual output of 3.4 million tonne per annum.

Indian state company Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), whose overseas arm holds a stake in the TotalEnergies-led Mozambique LNG export project, plans to raise by four-fold its domestic exploration and production acreage to find more natural gas and oil in India and cut the bill for imports.

TotalEnergies, the French developer of the onshore Mozambique LNG export project, said the security situation in the southeast African country was improving, opening the way for the future re-start of the venture.

The security situation has been helped by the deployment of peace-keeping forces from Rwanda and other security personnel to tackle Islamic insurgents.

The chief executives of TotalEnergies and the other LNG project lead-developer in Mozambique, Eni of Italy, had recently visited the east African state of Rwanda and thanked the government for its Mozambican peace-keeping efforts.

TotalEnergies declared “force majeure” on the venture in April 2021 over the growing conflict in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province.

The French major had already reduced the workforce to a bare minimum at the liquefaction plant site on the Afungi Peninsula, near the port of Pemba.

This followed a flare up at the end of March 2021 in the fighting in the region linked to an Islamist insurgency near the border with Tanzania.

“We are looking at the situation and, the steps taken by the Mozambican government are going in the right direction,” said Henri-Max Ndong Nzue, the TotalEnergies Senior Vice President for Africa.

Improvements

“Things are improving by what we can see on the ground. The African forces are doing quite a good job,” he added.

The instability has already pushed back the start of first production to at least 2025 from 2024, with full output of just over 13 million tonnes per annum expected in 2026.

TotalEnergies has continually expressed its “solidarity” with the government and people of Mozambique in being able to end the violence and restore security and stability in Cabo Delgado province in the longer term.

The Total-led project includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum gas fields located within offshore Area 1 of Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin.

The liquefaction plant site had already been cleared for construction when Total acquired it from Occidental Petroleum in an almost $4 billion deal in November 2019 for a 26.5 percent operated interest previously held by Anadarko Petroleum.

Total had initially planned to build two liquefaction Trains, each with capacity of 6.45 million tonnes power annum, and with the possibility of up to two additional Trains and overall output of 25 MTPA.

The Rovuma Basin Area 1 licence has estimated resources of more than 60 trillion cubic feet of gas resources of which 36 Tcf could be developed for a four-Train plant.

The Area 1 shareholders in addition to Total include Mozambican state-owned energy company ENH with 15 percent and five other companies

They are Japan’s Mitsui & Co. with a 20 percent stake, three Indian companies, ONGC Videsh, Bharat PetroResources and Beas Rovuma Energy each holding 10 percent and Thailand’s PTTEP with 8.5 percent.

French energy major Total said resumption of a full work programme scheduled at the Mozambique LNG export project had been postponed after another attack by extremists in the north of Cabo Delgado province.

European energy major Total has formally resumed a full work schedule on the Mozambique LNG export project after the government in the southeast African nation improved security arrangements in Cabo Delgado province.

Anadarko Petroleum has named former BG Group executive Mitch Ingram as Executive Vice President for International, Deepwater and Exploration to lead the US company’s overseas operations and project management, including the Mozambique LNG joint venture in southeast Africa.