Anadarko Eyes Go-Ahead for Huge LNG Plant as Bidding War Rages

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Anadarko Petroleum Corp. plans to give the go-ahead next month for its $20 billion Mozambique liquefied natural gas project, one of the assets caught in the middle of a bidding war for the driller.

Texas-based Anadarko will announce a final investment decision for the facility on June 18 in Maputo, the explorer said Wednesday in a statement. All issues between the company and the government of Mozambique have been resolved, it added.

The terminal would be the first onshore facility to export LNG from the African country. It’s one of the assets under contention in the tussle between Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Chevron Corp. for Anadarko. If Occidental’s $38 billion offer succeeds, Total SA would purchase Anadarko’s operations in Africa for $8.8 billion, including the Mozambique venture — a deal that would cement the French oil major’s position in continent and boost its ambitions to become one of the world’s top LNG players.

Chevron hasn’t said whether it will divest the Mozambique project as part of its $33 billion bid for Anadarko. The supermajor has experience developing giant LNG terminals in Western Australia. Anadarko has a “really nice LNG position that they’re developing in Mozambique, which will complement investments we’ve made over the last decade in Australia and help us grow our LNG portfolio,” Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said last month in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Source: Bloomberg Business News