Natural Gas Monetization Binds Africa and Mozambique’s Oil and Gas Industries

For many years, and as it was pursuing ambitions to become a global LNG exporter, Mozambique has struggled to generate enough energy for its domestic market. We are now about to see an energy revolution thanks to great gas discoveries made by international investors over the past decade. While international technological innovation and skillful know-how will be driving such projects, we must all push for a transfer of knowledge throughout the development of Mozambique’s LNG projects.

The need for more collaboration and shared experience among African energy experts is going to be critical for Mozambique as it pushes towards monetizing massive gas discoveries. Similarly, recognizing that the state and the private sector need to play a role in the development of critical energy infrastructure to pave the way for domestic gas utilization will be key to Mozambique’s development and also solving energy poverty issues.

“Mozambique can learn from the success and struggles of other African countries on the critical role of gas in our development,” stated Florival Mucave, President of the Mozambique Oil & Gas Chamber, who firmly believes that increased collaboration between upstream and downstream players across the value-chain will benefit Mozambique.

Mozambican stakeholders from the public and private sector recognize that the country is at a crossroad in its development. In this context, building the right energy mix while taking into consideration climate issues is key for the country.

The African energy industry is capable of embracing climate concerns and at the same time continuing to develop its natural resources to benefit the poor, create jobs and promote inclusive economic development.

Mozambique’s LNG is important to the world and will act as a bridge to other sources of energy, and local businesses should be ready to participate in this development. Local content and jobs must not be catch phrases, they must be real. African businesses and entrepreneurs have a role to play and must push for an enabling environment that will spur investment, entrepreneurship and growth.

“The government and energy companies have recognized the amazing opportunity that gas offers to change our economic ambitions, and there is a clear intent to monetize these resources for the benefit of Mozambicans. This will be possible only through an increase in investment into infrastructure,” added Florival Mucave.

“The issues around domestic gas and local concerns will be resolved with a market driven approach. This will pave the way for the use of affordable and abundant gas to launch industrial and agricultural-led growth, improve our trading abilities regionally, effectively increase the Mozambican spending power, and revitalize our economy in a post covid environment,” he concluded.

Mozambique is already benefiting from its collaboration with the African Energy Chamber, the largest energy industry lobby group in the continent. Such collaborative platforms between the public and private sector need to be encouraged to drive investment in gas and monetization across industries, for the benefits of African factories and households.

“We stand ready to share lessons learnt from other gas producers with Mozambique. There are a lot of resources across our network when it comes to gas monetization, including successful deals, in-depth industry experience and market driven policies that can ensure Mozambique’s energy success,” declared NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

“Mozambique is in a unique position to capitalize on these opportunities and I am confident it will. Our industry needs to collaborate with the government to develop smart policies and drive up the economy. Total, Exxon, ENI are part of the solution and we must work with them and provide the incentives to collectives to achieve such opportunities that benefit Africans as a whole,” he added.

Data Source: African Energy Chamber