Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi said in parliament on Wednesday that the country is already a “relevant player” in the international energy market, having exported more than 60 shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) since November 2022.
“The gas income for Mozambique has become a reality,” said the head of state, as he presented the annual report on the General Situation of the Nation at The Mozambican parliament in Maputo for more than three and a half hours.
“We have already managed to export the gas from the Rovuma basin to be transformed into wealth. In the coming years, Rovuma gas can contribute to the country’s economy. It’s still on a small scale, but it can,” said Nyusi, presenting the annual balance sheet for the last time – usually done at the end of the year – ahead of the general elections on 9 October, which he is not running in.
The Mozambican president, who has been in office since 2015, said that natural gas, and the revenue from its export, represents a “transformative chapter” in Mozambique’s “economic history”, but as part of a “long-term strategy”.
“It’s not for today,” he warned.
He also stressed that the revenues from LNG exports should be used as the country’s “development engine”, giving as an example the implementation of Mozambique’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, which has been fuelled by these resources since April.
Taking stock of his last five-year term in office, Nyusi pointed to the “most significant milestone” as the start of LNG production and commercialisation from 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), which holds a 70% stake in the concession contract, with plans to double capacity in the coming years with a second floating platform.
“From November 2022 to June 2024, 63 shipments were made, corresponding to 4.48 million tonnes of LNG. This achievement symbolises the realisation of a decades-long dream and positions Mozambique as a relevant player in the global energy market,” he said, while stressing the need to create “local value”.
“What we’re taking care of here is that something has to stay here. And stay for Mozambicans,” he said.
Mozambique has the third largest natural gas reserves in Africa and currently has three development projects approved to exploit the natural gas reserves in the Rovuma basin, classified among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado.
TotalEnergies, the leader of the Area 1 consortium, the largest of these projects, is in the process of developing the construction of a plant near Palma for the production and export of natural gas, which has been suspended since 2021 due to the terrorist attacks.
In May, the chairman of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, recognised “positive progress” towards the resumption of this project, valued at US$20 billion (€18.3 billion), but without committing to deadlines.
On 25 July, during the presentation of the oil company’s results, Pouyanné said that “everything is settled with the contractors” for the resumption of construction, with negotiations taking place with the financiers and acknowledging the “progress” in the security situation.
“As you also know, there will soon be presidential elections [9 October] in Mozambique. And of course it’s important for us to have confirmation that the new President will follow the same policy in relation to these major projects. This is where we stand. So I would say that by the end of the year we should clarify how we can move forward,” Pouyanné said.
Lusa
