South African President Cyril Ramaphosa argued on Monday (1) that the vast natural gas resources found in Mozambique should be developed for the benefit not only of the country itself but of the entire Southern Africa region, describing this approach as a strategic imperative for regional development, according to Lusa.
“Mozambique has massive hydrocarbon resources in the north of the country. This gas, which is the natural wealth of the Mozambican people, should be exploited for the good of Mozambique and for the good of the Southern African region. It is an imperative,” stated the South African head of state during the inauguration ceremony of the new Integrated Gas Processing Plant, located in Inhambane province.
The industrial unit, built under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between the Government and the oil company Sasol, represents an investment of around 86.6 billion meticais (one billion dollars). The facility is part of a broader energy project aimed at strengthening the capacity for production and processing of natural gas and light oil, while meeting the growing regional demand for energy.
For Ramaphosa, access to energy resources and their joint development should be pillars of a new phase of regional integration. “We believe it is possible to build shared infrastructure and align our regulatory regimes. Regional demand is vital to attract open investment and ensure energy security for all countries,” he said, urging political courage from ministers and business leaders in the region.
“This is a value proposition that requires boldness. Our leaders and entrepreneurs must not be timid or hesitant. They must look to the horizon and seize the opportunity to transport this gas to South Africa and other parts of the continent,” he added.
The new plant will produce natural gas, light oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for the domestic market, with a direct impact on the region’s energy transition, industrialisation and economic resilience among member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
For his part, Mozambique’s President, Daniel Chapo, reaffirmed the strategic value of the energy partnership between the two countries, praising the project as a decisive step toward shared prosperity. “Mozambique deeply values this cooperation and the shared commitment to a sovereign, industrialised and inclusive Southern Africa,” he said.
Daniel Chapo also highlighted that the newly inaugurated plant is the country’s first LPG production unit and forms part of a broader project with the potential to structurally transform both the national and regional economies in the coming years. “We show our peoples and the world that Mozambique and South Africa do not grow apart – they grow together,” he stressed.
The PSA project foresees an annual production of 53 million megajoules of natural gas, destined for the Temane Thermal Power Plant (CTT), in addition to four thousand barrels per day of light oil. The CTT will have the capacity to generate 450 megawatts of electricity, while the new processing plant will be able to produce 30,000 tonnes of LPG annually.
The first stone of the infrastructure was laid in 2022, and production was initially scheduled to begin in 2024, but later postponed to November 2025.
