ADNOC’s African footprint grows with acquisition of stake in block off Mozambique

Portugal’s oil and gas company Galp has completed the sale of its upstream assets offshore Mozambique to XRG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Now that the acquisition of Galp’s 10% stake in the Area 4 concession is finalized, ADNOC has access to the Rovuma supergiant gas basin, holding what is said to be one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in the past fifteen years. The stake sale was announced last May.

The Area 4 concession encompasses the operational Coral Sul FLNG facility, the planned Coral North FLNG development, and the Rovuma LNG onshore facilities. The final investment decision (FID) for Rovuma, originally planned for 2025, was recently bumped to 2026.

Galp says the sale has enabled it to collect a payment of approximately $881 million in 1Q 2025. Additional contingent payments of $100 m and $400 million will be made once the FID is made for Coral North and Rovuma LNG, respectively.

The Eni-operated Coral South development, currently in operation, has a capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG and is said to represent the first facility of its kind in Africa. The proposed Coral North development is expected to produce a further 3.5 mtpa of LNG through an FLNG facility to process and liquefy natural gas for export.

The 18-mtpa Rovuma onshore LNG development has a modular, electric-drive design that is anticipated to dramatically reduce the carbon intensity of the LNG it will produce compared to industry benchmarks.

Even though this deal downsized its African portfolio, the Portuguese player is still active in other African countries. Light oil and gas condensate was recently found in the fifth well within Galp’s second exploration and appraisal program in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia.

“Our recently completed transaction in Mozambique reinforces our position in key energy markets and expands our global gas portfolio. With gas and LNG at the core of our long-term strategy, we are committed to supporting energy security and driving economic growth,” stated XRG.

ADNOC describes XRG as a low-carbon energy, natural gas, and chemicals investment company. Launched in late 2024, the firm is envisioned to power the world with lower-emission energy to enable a more sustainable future.