The increase in natural gas revenues is attributed to the rise in export volume in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, combined with a 12.8% increase in the average market price, according to the first quarter 2025 balance of payments report by the Bank of Mozambique.
Sales of mineral coal, historically Mozambique’s most exported product, fell by 35% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024, totaling $300.8 million (€256 million). This decline is mainly due to the suspension of operations in some mines and disruptions in the railway line caused by adverse weather conditions that affected production distribution in central Mozambique.
Post-election protests, which continued throughout the first quarter, notably the road blockades hindering worker movement, also impacted production, acknowledges the document. Additionally, the average international market price of coal decreased by 6%.
Aluminum exports surpassed coal in this period, reaching $380.7 million (€324 million), marking an 88.3% year-on-year increase.
The improvement in aluminum revenues was due both to a 45% increase in export volume and a 14% rise in the international market price, states the report.
By June, the Mozambican state collected $210 million (€179.3 million) from oil and natural gas exploration, revenues deposited in the Sovereign Fund of Mozambique (FSM), exceeding the total collected throughout 2024, as reported in August.
Economic and social balance data on state budget execution from January to June provided by the Ministry of Finance indicate these revenues include $164.69 million (€140.6 million) from 2024, and $45.24 million (€38.6 million) from the first half of the year.
These funds were deposited in the Transitional Account at the Bank of Mozambique, in accordance with Article 6 of Law No. 1/2024 of January 9, which establishes the Sovereign Fund of Mozambique, the document reads.
Throughout 2024—the first year of the new fund—revenues delivered to the FSM amounted to $158.8 million (€135.5 million), according to previous government data.
Mozambique has exported 135 shipments of gas since 2022 from the northern region, announced the National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) in late August.
“Shipments began in 2022, with 118 LNG [Liquefied Natural Gas] and 17 condensate cargoes,” said Monica Juvane, director of ENH, Mozambique’s state oil operator, noting that the main buyer is British Petroleum (BP), which signed a 20-year contract in 2016 with oil company Eni and the state energy enterprise.
“They are gas contracts, and gas contracts are long-term, with this one awarded to BP,” explained Monica Juvane.
Mozambique has three approved development projects for exploring natural gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin, ranked among the world’s largest, off the coast of Cabo Delgado. Besides the project operated by Eni, the only one currently in production, there are Mozambique LNG (Area 1) operated by TotalEnergies with up to 43 million tons per annum (mtpa), and Rovuma LNG (Area 4) operated by ExxonMobil with 18 mtpa, both in the development phase.
In 2024, a study by Deloitte concluded that Mozambique’s gas reserves represent potential revenues of $100 billion (€96.2 billion).
This year alone, without the other operations yet starting, Mozambique’s gas production is estimated at 5.4 billion cubic meters, making it the sixth-largest producer in Africa.
