US energy giant ExxonMobil and its partners in the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique are still targeting a final investment decision on the LNG project by the end of this year, according to ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods.
“Mozambique, we hope to FID that project later this year,” Woods told analysts during ExxonMobil’s second-quarter call on Friday.
He also said that “we’ve got Papua and Papua New Guinea that we look to FID later this year.”
Earlier this year, Woods said that ExxonMobil and its partners in the Rovuma LNG project are planning to take FID on the project in 2026.
Last year, ExxonMobil lifted force majeure on the project.
Mozambique Rovuma Venture, which, besides ExxonMobil, includes Italy’s Eni and China’s CNPC, is developing the project.
MRV operates the deepwater Area 4 block in the Rovuma basin off Mozambique, which will feed the planned LNG export plant on the Afungi peninsula from the Mamba reservoirs.
The joint venture holds a 70 percent interest in the Area 4 exploration and production concession contract.
In addition to MRV, Galp, Kogas, and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos each hold a 10 percent interest in Area 4.
ExxonMobil is leading the construction and operation of the liquefaction and related facilities on behalf of MRV, and Eni is leading the construction and operation of the upstream facilities.
Hormuz
Woods confirmed the FID target after being asked whether ExxonMobil is looking to accelerate LNG projects to help diversify away from the Middle East, where ExxonMobil is a partner in the giant QatarEnergy Ras Laffan LNG facility.
He also answered a question about the Strait of Hormuz situation and Exxon’s intention to invest in repairing the two damaged Qatar LNG trains.
“I don’t think I have a lot of additional perspective on the ground with respect to what’s happening in the Strait.. I will say, as a big supplier in the marketplace, it is ultimately down to the shipping companies and the crews on those ships to make those transits,” he said.
Woods said that “there’s going to be a continued inhibition for movement, which will, even once we get things cleared up, I think it’ll take some time for folks to gain some confidence there to continue to ramp things back up to a very high level.”
“With respect to the broader question, our presence there and the work that we’re doing with Qatar, I just come back to the medium- to long-term fundamentals, which the world needs the resources in that region, it needs to have the Strait opened and transiting back at levels it was prior to this conflict. We’re convinced that will come to be at some point in the future. I can’t really predict when it’ll happen or exactly what it will look like,” he said.
“We’re in dialogue with QatarEnergy. I think we have a significant role that we can play to bring our expertise to help expedite the repairs. We’re in discussions with QE about that and frankly, looking for the best approach there where obviously QatarEnergy and the people of Qatar benefit and ExxonMobil benefits as well,” he said.
Diversification
Discussing LNG portfolio diversification due to the Middle East crisis, he said, “we’re not extrapolating current events to a long-term change in the stability of the region.”
“If you look at our portfolio of opportunities in LNG, it has, through the opportunity set that we have, diversifying our production away from the Middle East just based on where the opportunity set is,” Woods said.
“I think we continue to see opportunities and very large opportunities that are on the left-hand side of the cost of supply curve coming online. That’s going to achieve some diversification. I would also tell you that as we continue to look for future opportunities, given the important role that natural gas is going to play, we won’t shy away from the region,” he said. (August 3, 2026, Source: https://lngprime.com/americas/exxonmobil-and-partners-still-target-rovuma-lng-fid-by-year-end/194296/)
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