TotalEnergies’ major liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique is set to resume at the end of 2025 with an initial production capacity of 13 million tons per year. This project had been suspended due to security challenges in the country.
Mozambique is restarting its liquefied natural gas project after several years of suspension. The Mozambique LNG project, on hold since 2021, is expected to initially produce 13 million tons per year, with the potential for expansion up to 43 million tons. These projects are based on the vast reserves discovered in the 2010s, estimated at nearly 5,000 billion cubic meters of conventional gas, positioning the country as a key player in the global energy market.
Clearly, the resumption will contribute to the wealth created in the territory. The whole question now is whether they have a strategy, whether they intend to use natural resources as a lever for development to boost economic diversification, and that could be a very good thing. The only thing that must be done is to ensure that corruption is kept out of all this.
The development of the hydrocarbon sector represents a major challenge for Mozambique. Despite security challenges, the Mozambican government aims to become a major player in hydrocarbons and strengthen its contribution to global liquefied natural gas exports.
The immediate way to create jobs through this is possibly corporate social responsibility; they would need to negotiate contracts with the operators very well. Ultimately, today, oil or gas extraction is what is called in English ‘capital intensive’ – meaning it uses a great deal of technology and very few people. Therefore, it is through corporate social responsibility that we can hope to create opportunities, and for that, it is important that contracts are well negotiated from the start.
Mozambique’s reserves are mainly concentrated in offshore Blocks 1 and 4 of the Rovuma Basin, while existing projects, such as Sasol’s in Inhambane, already supply South Africa via a gas pipeline. With the restart of Mozambique LNG, the country could, within the next ten years, rank among the world’s top four gas exporters. A strategic development that could transform Mozambique’s economy and strengthen its role on the international energy stage.