The profits of Mozambique’s state-owned oil company, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), dropped by half in 2024, totaling 1.7 billion meticais (USD 26.7 million), according to official data reviewed by Lusa on Monday, July 21.
This performance contrasts with the positive net results of 3.5 billion meticais (USD 55 million) recorded in 2023, which had represented a sevenfold increase from the previous year — a growth then attributed by management to the “significant increase in natural gas sales revenue.”
According to the financial statements as of December 31, 2024, in addition to the profit decline, ENH ended the year with total assets of 28.7 billion meticais (USD 452 million) and liabilities that rose slightly to 8.9 billion meticais (USD 140 million). ENH has a share capital of 749 million meticais (USD 11.8 million), fully owned by the State, and operates under the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy. Its primary mission is oil and gas operations, “including prospecting, exploration, development, production, transportation, transmission, and commercialization of hydrocarbons and their derivatives,” as well as import and export activities.
The report also states that ENH distributed dividends to the State worth 1.2 billion meticais (USD 18.9 million) in 2024, referring to the previous year’s performance, and 877.6 million meticais (USD 13.8 million) in 2023. ENH explains that it is a concessionaire, together with other entities, of licenses granted by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy for oil exploration, development, and production in Mozambique. It holds stakes ranging from 10% to 30% in 11 concessions.
In 2021, the company posted a negative net result of 153.1 million meticais (USD 2.4 million), which turned into a profit of 461.9 million meticais (USD 7.3 million) in 2022, as revenues from goods and services (mainly gas) nearly doubled to 960.2 million meticais (USD 15.1 million).
In 2023, ENH’s revenues from natural gas sales exceeded 1.6 billion meticais (USD 25.1 million), nearly doubling the 2022 figures.
Founded in 1981, ENH participates in all phases of oil operations, including research, exploration, production, refining, transport, storage, and commercialization of hydrocarbons and their derivatives, including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Gas-to-Liquids (GTL), both within and outside the country.
Mozambique has three approved development projects for the exploitation of the Rovuma Basin’s natural gas reserves, considered among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado province. In addition to the project already in production operated by Eni, there are the Mozambique LNG (Area 1) project, operated by TotalEnergies with a capacity of up to 43 million tonnes per year (mtpa), and Rovuma LNG (Area 4), operated by ExxonMobil with 18 mtpa, still under development.
In 2024, a study by consulting firm Deloitte concluded that Mozambique’s LNG reserves represent potential revenues of USD 100 billion (MZN 6.35 trillion), underlining the country’s international importance in the energy transition.
Even without the other projects yet in operation, Mozambique’s estimated gas production for this year is 5.4 billion cubic meters, making the country the sixth-largest gas producer in Africa.
Source: DE
