Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane revealed on Tuesday 30 July that the Trade and Development Bank of Eastern and Southern Africa (TDB) has already disbursed a total of 7 billion meticais (108.5 million dollars) to stimulate the exploration of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Rovuma basin, Cabo Delgado province.
According to the government official, the money was also used to encourage the creation of more jobs in the sector and to boost revenue collection, allowing for additional investment in infrastructure and public services.
Maleiane said that the discovery of gas in Mozambique had brought numerous advantages, making the country more attractive to international investors looking for more opportunities.
‘In addition to the LNG area, the bank has provided financing for the agriculture, energy, transport and logistics sectors, as well as for the development, processing and export of cereal grains, with cashew nuts, maize and sesame being the most important,’ he said.
He emphasised that, despite the challenges caused by extreme climate change and the geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, the Executive has been ‘working with other financial institutions to leverage the country’s economic growth’.
Mozambique’s revenues from natural gas exports grew by a significant 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, reaching 28 billion meticais (443 million dollars), according to figures released by the Bank of Mozambique (BdM).
As reported by Lusa, this increase in revenue contrasts with the 21.5 billion meticais (340.9 million dollars) recorded in the same period of 2023.
According to the BdM document, ‘the increase in natural gas revenues is the result of the increase in the volume exported associated with the start of exploration and export of gas from Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, despite the fact that the average price on the international market fell by 43.5 per cent’.
Mozambique has three development projects approved to exploit the natural gas reserves of the Rovuma Basin, classified as among the largest in the world, all located off the coast of Cabo Delgado province.
Two of these projects are larger and involve channelling the gas from the seabed to land, cooling it in a plant and then exporting it by sea in a liquid state.
One is led by TotalEnergies (Area 1 consortium) and work progressed until it was suspended indefinitely after the armed attack on Palma in March 2021, when the French energy company declared that it would only resume work when the area was safe. The other is the still unannounced investment led by ExxonMobil and Eni (Area 4 consortium).
A third completed, smaller project also belongs to the Area 4 consortium and consists of a floating platform for capturing and processing gas for export, directly at sea, which started up in November 2022.
