Mozambique has handed its key state companies, including national oil firm ENH, a 30-year approval to build and run natural gas facilities at the Port of Beira and the smaller Inhassoro site.
The country’s push to tap its oil and gas potential continues to face setbacks from the Islamist-linked insurgency in the north, which has already stalled TotalEnergies’ LNG plant, even though security conditions have improved somewhat.
A special-purpose vehicle will oversee the concession, bringing together ENH, the ports and railways operator CFM, the power utility EDM, and Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric (HCB), along with technical and financial partners chosen by the government.
The exclusive agreement covers a liquefied natural gas terminal, storage sites, and the 865-kilometer Rompco pipeline that carries gas from Mozambique to South Africa. Rompco is jointly owned by the Mozambican and South African governments, each with 40 percent, while Sasol holds the remaining 20 percent.
According to the National Petroleum Regulator (INP), the project revolves around a floating storage and regasification unit anchored in Beira and Inhambane, linked directly to the pipeline.
The government approved the concession last week as TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil continue advancing their separate LNG developments.
INP said the new infrastructure is meant to support the movement of LNG from various Rovuma Basin projects, where TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil are operating, while also helping local industries by ensuring that part of the gas stays within the domestic market.
A Sasol spokesperson said the infrastructure provides the essential backbone needed to turn Rovuma’s gas potential into tangible national benefit.
source: www.reuters.com
African Energy Council