Over the last two years, Mozambique has become a regional and global gas player, hosting major projects across the continent, which has sparked interest from several countries. Meanwhile, with a view to attracting more investment, the country’s potential will be discussed at a two-day forum (14-15 May) to be held in Paris, the French capital.
Called Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2024, the event will explore issues related to Mozambique’s gas prospects and how investors can enter and expand in the market.
According to a Further Africa publication, IAE 2024 is an exclusive forum designed to facilitate investment between African energy markets and global investors.
“With more than 100 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves (the third largest in Africa), the country is brimming with opportunities for explorers, project promoters and technology providers in gas exploration, production, transport, storage and utilisation projects,” he reiterated.
The portal recalled that in recent times the country’s gas reserves have attracted the interest of African and global investors throughout the energy value chain, and last December the Nigerian energy company Aiteo secured an operational stake in the Mazenga gas block, estimated at 19 billion cubic feet of reserves.
Mozambique has three development projects approved to exploit the natural gas reserves of the Rovuma basin, classified 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 to capture and process gas for export, directly at sea, which started up in November 2022.