The project is underway, with progress made despite previous delays due to protests and other issues, according to Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Estêvão Pale. He expects that by the end of the year, or early next year, the project will begin its operations. Pale was addressing journalists in the province of Inhambane, in the country’s south.
This concerns a project by South African oil company Sasol to produce cooking gas in Mozambique, building on its existing gas production in Temane (Inhassoro) and Pande (Govuro), in Inhambane.
The project’s foundation stone was laid on March 27, 2022, in Inhassoro.
According to Estêvão Pale, speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the National Extractive Sector Legal Reform Public Consultation Program, the delays were mainly due to nearly five months of social tension and protests initially sparked by the electoral results of October 9, resulting in 400 deaths and destruction of property.
In May, Sasol anticipated starting domestic gas production by September, after stating that the factory being installed in southern Mozambique was in a commissioning phase.
“The entire infrastructure is practically finished, and we are now in the factory commissioning phase for domestic gas. Hence, this segment of the cooking gas factory is currently, between June and July, in a commissioning period (…). If all goes well, by the end of September, the new factory will start production,” said Sasol’s General Director in Mozambique, Ovídeo Rodolfo, to journalists.
In April this year, Sasol had projected to conclude in September the one billion dollar (907.6 million euros) Gas and Electricity Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) project in Mozambique, as announced by the company’s president.
“This is a one billion dollar project reaching completion in September. It has been a wonderful project,” stated Sasol President and CEO, Simon Baloy, after meeting the Mozambican President in Maputo to discuss the project ongoing in Inhassoro district, Inhambane province.
“This project will not only integrate gas into energy production but will also supply gas to Mozambique’s second-largest power station, the Temane Thermal Power Plant (CTT), which is also nearing completion, and will produce LPG, reducing the amount of gas imported by Mozambique,” added Baloy.
The PSA project aims to produce 53 million megajoules of natural gas per year, enabling the implementation of the Temane Thermal Power Plant and the production of 4,000 barrels of light oil per day, according to the Mozambican government.
The CTT will have the capacity to produce 450 megawatts of electricity, and the processing unit will generate 30,000 tonnes of LPG annually.
The Mozambican government, previously estimating production at the unit starting in March, anticipates a 70% reduction in bottled gas imports with the commencement of operations in Inhassoro.
