South Africa reaffirmed its need for a partnership with Mozambique to harness natural gas as a transition fuel to replace coal and diesel.
South Africans are aware that natural gas provides flexible capacity to enable the rapid expansion of renewable energy supply.
Aware that Mozambique represents one of the most lucrative gas markets in Africa, with over 100 trillion cubic feet of reserves, South African Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientso Ramokgopa looks with interest on a partnership between the two countries that can help South Africa in its ambitious energy transition project.
Mozambique and South Africa are already concluding negotiations to seal an agreement in the energy sector.
Speaking to Mozambican journalists in Johannesburg at the end of a meeting with the Mozambican Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, on Thursday, Minister Ramokgopa spoke of the mutual gains that the agreement would bring to both countries.
“I must say that we will sign the document, but the most important thing is to change the lives of our people: Mozambique will guarantee increased universal access to energy, that is, we will have more and more people able to obtain energy and support industry. On our side, the agreement will be used to address the supply crisis; in fact, we are almost close to resolving this, and we have not had any cuts in the last 150 days.
Ramokgopa emphasized the importance of converting natural gas into energy, stating that Mozambique plays a crucial role in this transition. He noted the strong, cordial relationship between the two neighboring countries and expressed a desire for this partnership to grow significantly in the energy sector, aiming to achieve regional energy security.
