South Africa’s petro-chemical giant, SASOL has confirmed it will be investing over $1 billion in the exploitation of light oil for gas and energy production in Inhassoro district of the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane as from 2018. The project kicks off this year with the construction of a processing plant in Inhassoro, a Mozambican coastal town, situated some 750 kilometers north of the country’s capital, Maputo.

This is likely to make SASOL become the first commercial oil producer in Mozambique to extend a gas pipeline that will increase exports to neighbouring South Africa.

According to a statement seen by APA on Sunday, the petrochemicals giant, which makes 40 percent of its revenue from oil, said the project will be rolled out in stages.

It said the first phase will include an oil, liquefied petroleum oil and gas project adjacent to its Pande and Temane fields.

Natural gas from Pande and Temane fields, in which Sasol holds a majority stake, is currently produced and processed at a central facility before being transported on an 865 km pipeline to gas markets in Mozambique and South Africa.

Mozambique is sitting on huge gas reserves and developing liquefied natural gas export projects is expected to bring tens of billions of dollars to the impoverished country.

Source: APA StarAfrica