East African LNG Frontiers: Anadarko in Mozambique (2012–2019)
Offshore Mozambique, the deepwater Rovuma Basin emerged as one of the most significant global hydrocarbon discoveries of the 21st century. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation led a consortium that executed a highly successful exploration campaign, discovering over 75 TCF of recoverable natural gas in the Prosperidade and Golfinho/Atum complexes within Offshore Area 1.
The Area 1 Mozambique LNG Project
The sheer scale of this resource justified the ambitious development of Mozambique's first onshore LNG facility on the Afungi Peninsula in Cabo Delgado province. The Golfinho exploration well, drilled to a total depth of 14,885 feet in 3,370 feet of water, encountered over 193 net feet of natural gas pay, confirming the massive potential of the Oligocene fan systems.
In June 2019, Anadarko officially announced a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project, marking the largest single oil and gas sanction ever taken in Sub-Saharan Africa. The initial phase of the project involved the construction of two onshore LNG trains with a total nameplate capacity of 12.88 MTPA, supported by an extensive subsea gathering system. The subsea infrastructure required advanced engineering, with Oceaneering contracted to supply 185 kilometers of steel tube control umbilicals and distribution hardware manufactured in Florida and Texas.
However, shortly after the FID was reached, Occidental Petroleum acquired Anadarko for $57 billion and subsequently sold Anadarko's entire African portfolio—comprising the Mozambique asset, as well as the Jubilee and TEN fields in Ghana and assets in Algeria and South Africa—to Total (now TotalEnergies) for $8.8 billion. The $3.9 billion portion of the deal dedicated to the 26.5% stake in the Mozambique LNG project positioned TotalEnergies as the new operator. The project's execution has since faced severe headwinds due to a violent Islamist insurgency in the Cabo Delgado province. A fatal attack on Anadarko contractors in February 2019, which resulted in a beheading and several injuries, highlighted the extreme security risks, requiring profound militarization of the zone by the government to protect the onshore facility construction.
Commercial and Operational Service Execution (2012–2019)
Supporting the massive drilling requirements of the Area 1 exploration and appraisal wells demanded expert logistical and technical service provision. Similar to the operations in West Africa, global account managers representing the tubular and casing service lines attacked must-win projects for Anadarko and its partners. The work performed included deploying remote operations groups worldwide, managing Master Service Documents (MSDs), and providing seamless well-center delivery for highly complex deepwater completions. The commercial structures established during this period ensured that the technical challenges of running casing in 3,300-foot waters were met without causing non-productive time (NPT) for the drillships (such as the Belford Dolphin) operating on site.
