Mozambique has started exporting liquefied natural gas for the first time, in a move the country’s President Filipe Nyusi has described as historic.
The gas has been produced at an off-shore plant run by Italian energy firm Eni, but British oil giant BP has the purchasing rights over it.
The gas left in a British cargo ship for Europe, but its final destination is unclear.
Mozambique hopes to become one of the world’s biggest exporters of natural gas, following its discovery in the northern Cabo Delgado province in 2010.
But its efforts have been hampered by a five-year-long Islamist insurgency that has killed more than 4,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in the province.
The government believes the discovery of gas will boost the economy, but Nyusi said Mozambique would continue to focus on “traditional activities”, such as agriculture, fishing, tourism, to achieve development.
Experts estimated that the southeast African nation could generate US$12billion annually by exporting 30 million tons from its three existing LNG projects by European energy giants.
Mozambique’s LNG is coming into play at a time when tight gas supplies have led to soaring prices in Europe. European buyers are now paying a hefty premium for gas supplies as they seek to end their dependence on Russian gas and are being forced to compete with Asian buyers to secure LNG cargoes ahead of the winter. -thestar
