Is Mozambique the New Rising Star for Competitive and Expanded LNG Market?

Deep down, you know it’s true. When it comes to oil and gas developments, Mozambique is in the limelight.
The country is in the forefront among other oil and gas regions in Africa.

Several projects are moving ahead as expected.

A recent substantial gas discovery in Mozambique has been followed by announcement of the final investment decisions (FIDs).

The first development is the Italian energy company Eni-led Coral LNG, which is the first floating LNG project in Africa. The second is the Total-led Mozambique LNG, the country’s first proposed onshore LNG terminal.

The project reached its final investment decision (FID) in June, 2019.

Another project is the Rovuma LNG led by Eni and ExxonMobil. This is the biggest construction project to be carried out in Mozambique.

I said it before and I will say it now: there is something positive happening in Mozambique.

And that will result to the prosperity of one of the poorest countries in the world with a population of nearly 31 million.

In reality, employment and contracting opportunities are abundant in Mozambique’s oil and gas sector.

The reasons I have been following Mozambique closely is that the region is attracting incredibly strong interest in its oil and gas market.

Some of the largest petroleum companies in the world, such as Total, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, Anadarko, are actively operating in the region and putting infrastructures in place to commercialize Mozambique’s gas resources.

Enough Buyers for Mozambique’s Gas

China seeks to deliver electricity to its growing population and also wants to reduce its reliance on coal as pollution and other emission is the major issue in most of its town and cities.

The sad reality is that the region has limited gas resources within its borders. The gas demand in China is huge.

The Chinese import gas from every direction, including Russia, Myanmar, just to name a few.

According to speculation on the next oil rush, China’s demand for gas will more than triple in the next 15 years.

Furthermore, India consumes 22 million cubits of Liquified Natural Gas per year. The rate is expected to increase in the next 5 years.

The chairman of Gail India Limited pointed out that his company will buy more LNG in 2023 and 2024.

A new Stifel report says: “The Japanese have been very hesitant buyers of US LNG recently, and seem to prefer Mozambique for their future needs as Japanese buyers are less interested in Henry Hub and do not want to risk dealing with small development companies.

The simple truth is that, there is no scarcity for hungry customers for Mozambique’s gas.

So, this all brings us back to our opening question: Is Mozambique the rising star in the competitive and expanded LNG market? It’s too early to say because it depends on how the region will be competitive against other sources in global LNG.

But we are sure that these projects will open both employment and business opportunities for the ambitions of local and international individuals.