The UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) has acquired a 10% equity stake in Portuguese multinational energy firm Galp’s interest in the Area 4 concession of the Rovuma basin in Mozambique.

The acquisition, ADNOC’s first in the African country, will allow the company to a share of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production from the concession, which has a combined production capacity exceeding 25 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

ADNOC said the stake will support its international growth strategy, complementing its efforts to expand its lower-carbon LNG portfolio to meet growing gas demand and support the energy transition.

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director for Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, said this acquisition supports the company’s efforts to “build an integrated global gas business to ensure we continue providing a secure, reliable and responsible supply of natural gas.”

The Area 4 concession includes the operational Coral South Floating LNG (FLNG) facility, the planned Coral North FLNG development and the planned Rovuma LNG onshore facilities.

The Coral South development, currently in operation, is capable of producing up to 3.5 mtpa of LNG, while the proposed Coral North development is expected to produce a further 3.5 mtpa of LNG through a FLNG facility to process and liquefy natural gas for export.

Mozambique’s Rovuma supergiant gas basin represents one of the world’s largest gas discoveries.

The news comes days after ADNOC announced it had acquired a 11.7% stake in the US-based NextDecade Corp.’s LNG project in Texas and has also agreed to offtake supply from the plant for 20 years. 

(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)

bindu.rai@lseg.com