Mozambique’s natural gas exports totalled $901 million (€852.3 million) in the first half of the year, an increase of 33% compared to the same period in 2023.
‘The increase in natural gas revenues is explained by the increase in the volume exported, associated with the start of exploration and export of gas from area 4 of the Rovuma basin, in a context in which the average price on the international market fell by 28%,’ reads a report by the Bank of Mozambique.
Sales of natural gas by Mozambique totalled $1.726 billion (€1.633 billion) in 2023, three times more than in 2022, coming close to coal, which still leads among Mozambican exports.
According to data from previous reports by the Bank of Mozambique, natural gas exports in 2023 increased by 218% compared to the previous year, when these sales totalled $541.6 million (€512.4 million).
In 2023, Mozambique also exported gas, in value, identical to the sum of the years 2017 to 2022, which totalled more than $.,866 billion (€1.765 billion).
The increase in natural gas exports continues to be explained by the start-up, at the end of October 2022, of operations in Area 4—the only one of the three approved projects already in the production phase—by Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), a joint venture co-owned by ExxonMobil, Eni, and CNPC (China). MRV holds a 70% stake in the concession contract, with natural gas production starting in 2022.
Eni, the concessionaire for Rovuma Area 4, is developing a second floating platform, a copy of the first and called Coral Norte, to increase gas extraction, a source from the Italian oil company told Lusa in June.
This plan involves the acquisition of a second floating platform, known as FNLG, for the North Coral area, identical to the one that has been extracting gas since mid-2022 in the South Coral area, which is already under construction in South Korea.
‘Eni is working towards the development of Coral Norte through a second FLNG in Mozambique, taking advantage of the experience and lessons learnt in the Coral Sul FLNG, including those related to costs and execution time,’ added the same source from the oil company, the delegated operator of the consortium.
A previously released document, drawn up by the Mozambican firm Consultec for the oil company Eni, points to an investment of $7 billion (€6.3 billion), subject to approval by Mozambique’s government.
If the schedule goes according to plan, the platform will begin production in the second half of 2027, meaning it could start up even before the onshore projects. The onshore projects depend on security implications due to the armed rebellion in Cabo Delgado.
Coral Norte will be stationed 10 kilometres north of Coral Sul, which started production in November 2023. This makes it the first project to exploit the reserves in the Rovuma basin.
Lusa
