Business
Mozambique to use gas revenues to industrialize and social development
The US$6 billion to US$8 billion estimate compares with a World Bank figure of US$12.8 billion for gross domestic product in 2011.
Companies from South Africa, Germany, Japan, India and South Korea among others have expressed interest in setting up gas-to-liquids, methanol or fertilizer plants or in processing gas for power generation or production of steel and aluminium.
If all the projects were realized, they would require 2.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day or capacity equal to three LNG trains – facilities that turn natural gas into liquid – the draft plan showed.
“That’s a significant amount and really raises the question of how the government will balance an export-focused development approach with the domestic off-take,” said Anne Fruhauf, director for Africa energy at consulting firm Horizon Client Access.
Sovereign Wealth Fund
The plan estimated there was enough gas in Ruvuma to feed 10 LNG trains and other major gas-based projects starting in 2018.
In addition, the area around Mozambique’s Moatize basin in the north-central Tete province may contain significant resources of coal bed methane, which is gas trapped in underground coal seams.
