In the past two years, Mozambique has transformed into a regional and global gas player, home to two of the largest LNG developments on the continent – TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG and ExxonMobil’s Rovuma LNG projects – both of which are gathering pace. In January 2023, TotalEnergies announced plans to restart its Area 1 project in 2024, which represents a post-FID investment of $20 billion and features a planned capacity of 13.1 million tons per year (mtpa). Meanwhile, ExxonMobil anticipates entering the FEED phase of its 18-mtpa LNG development later this year, paving the way for FID by 2025.
Having exported first LNG cargo to Europe in 2022 through Eni’s Coral Sul floating LNG facility, Mozambique is a proven, bankable gas market with existing trade agreements and additional capacity on the horizon. A dedicated country spotlight at Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2024 – a two-day forum taking place in Paris this May – will explore Mozambique’s gas prospects and how investors can enter and expand within the market. With over 100 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves – the third-largest in Africa – Mozambique is ripe with opportunity for explorers, project developers and technology providers across gas exploration, production, transport, storage and utilization projects.
Mozambique’s gas reserves have attracted the interest of African and global investors across the energy value chain, in addition to IOCs. Last December, Nigerian energy company Aiteo secured an operated stake in the Mazenga gas block, estimated to hold 19 trillion cubic feet of reserves. Aiteo has launched an extensive exploration and development program involving aeromagnetic and gravitational geological studies, comprehensive field inspections, and reinterpretation and processing of existing data. Meanwhile, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines and Turkey’s Karpowership are leading development of the Nacala LNG-to-Powership project, representing the first LNG-to-power solution and floating storage regasification unit in eastern and southern Africa.
In an effort to facilitate cross-border gas cooperation, Mozambique’s National Institute of Petroleum signed a gas unitization deal with Tanzania’s Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority last November to co-develop a shared natural gas reservoir. With a potential overlap in resources from Tanzania’s Blocks 4/1B and 4/1C and Mozambique’s Blocks 5/A and 5/B in the Northern belt area, the agreement makes provisions for gas exploration, as well as knowledge and technology exchange. With the deal, Tanzania will utilize Mozambique’s gas infrastructure and expertise to supply Tanzanian gas to neighboring countries, such as Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Malawi, driving regional energy security across East and Southern Africa.
Energy Capital & Power
