Mozambique will this year begin the leap from small to a large world exporter of natural gas, its president, Filipe Nyusi, said in Doha on Tuesday as he signed up the country or observer status at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.
“From being a small exporter to the southern region and Africa, we will become part of the family of world natural gas exporters along with the nations represented here,” he said.
Nyusi was speaking at a gathering of heads of state and government that closes the 6th Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which took place on Monday and Tuesday, in Doha, Qatar.
On Monday, ,GECF’s 11 member countries approved Mozambique’s entry into the organisation as an observer “as of today,” noted Nyusi, who thanked the members for their support.
Also read: Mozambique launches project to boost resilience to climate change
The Coral Sul gas exploration and liquefaction platform led by Italy’s ENI and Exxon Mobil of the US is this year to begin exploration of the Rovuma gas reserves off Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado, opening a “new era” for the country, Nyusi said.
All the gas is to be exported for sale to BP, with the wealth generated for the country to be “a factor for peace, stability, security and promotion of development,” he added.
The head of state again pointed to liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transitional energy source, that is, the least polluting fossil fuels, saying that from the forum he expected information and experience to help plan LNG projects “for the benefit of the people, including future generations.”
Also read: Mozambique’s economy expected to rebound strongly
Existing observers to the forum include Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Norway, Peru and the United Arab Emirates. The Gas Exporting Countries Forum comprises Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
According to the organisation, member states together for 44% of global gas production and 67% of the world’s gas reserves, as well as 64% of gas transmission lines and 66% of LNG trade worldwide.
