The US Export and Import Bank (Exim) has approved a $5bn loan for the Rovuma LNG plant in northern Mozambique.
The money will be spent on US goods and services, which the bank said would directly support 16,400 American jobs over the project’s five-year construction period and generate more than $600m in interest payments for US taxpayers.
Kimberly Reed, the president of Exim, said in a press statement: "Because of President Trump’s leadership, Exim was fully restored in May, and our board was able to vote today – following a robust evaluation process to ensure taxpayer protection – to make this deal possible for American workers."
He added that the US had beaten China and Russia to win the loan. "The project now will be completed without their involvement and instead with ‘Made in the USA’ products and services. This is a win for our nation."
According to Exim, the LNG plant will over its lifetime have a net benefit of more than $60bn for Mozambique, about four times the country’s present GNP.
The Rovuma LNG plant will be built on the sparsely populated Afungi Peninsula in Cabo Delgado Province, and will process the 85 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas discovered in the offshore Rovuma Basin since 2010. The development of the plant will be led by Italy’s Eni and ExxonMobil of the US.
Operations to recover the gas from the Rovuma Basin are being led by Texan energy company Anadarko (pictured).
Image: Anadarko engineers at work in Mozambique (Anadarko)
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