The Ministry of Finance revealed that in 2024 a total of 158.8 million dollars (10 billion dollars) was collected in revenues from oil and natural gas exploration in Mozambique, which was then applied to the new Sovereign Fund (SF).
According to the data from the economic and social balance sheet on the implementation of the State Budget, these revenues include 74.1 million dollars corresponding to the years 2022-23, and 84.7 million dollars for 2024.
‘They were deposited in the Transitional Account at the Bank of Mozambique, under the terms of article 6 of Law no. 1/2024, of 9 January, which creates the Sovereign Fund of Mozambique,’ said the document quoted by Lusa.
Parliament approved the creation of the Fund on 15 December 2023, establishing its constitution by revenues from natural gas exploration, which by the 2040s could reach 379 billion meticals (6 billion dollars) a year. Last year, the government finalised all the instruments needed to make the FS operational.
‘Projections indicate that annual gas exports could amount to around 5.8 billion meticals (89.9 million dollars) over the life cycle of the project, if all the development initiatives approved so far are put into operation. In this scenario, annual revenues for the state should peak in the 2040s, exceeding 6 billion dollars a year,’ said the former Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela.
In addition, the FS regulation establishes the procedures for ensuring the transfer of resources from the exploitation of liquefied natural gas, as well as from future oil and gas projects. For the first 15 years, 60 per cent of revenues will be allocated to the State Budget and 40 per cent to the Sovereign Fund. From the 16th year onwards, the distribution will be equal (50/50).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) previously considered the creation of the WSF to be ‘an important step’ in ensuring ‘transparent and sound management’ of natural resources.
