The government of Mozambique believes that the country’s reserves of over 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas will contribute to the energy transition of the continent and the world, said the minister of economy and finance, Max Tonela.
“Mozambique has proven reserves of over 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that can and should be used to contribute to reducing and mitigating the situation in this transition process and will be an important player in the production and export of natural gas, contributing to energy transition in Mozambique, but also in the world,” he said.
In a debate on energy transition during the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in Accra, the minister argued that natural gas was an alternative for the climate transition, while renewable energy sources did not guarantee a secure and constant supply, “because it is a fossil source, but relatively clean, and there are also possible processes to remove some of the carbon that the gas has.
Max Tonela recalled that in the last quarter of this year the floating natural gas plant of Rovuma will start operating, which “will mark the beginning of a new era for the country”.
“We will cease to be a small producing and exporting country to play a relevant role as world gas exporters,” the minister said.
Tonela added that Mozambique is completing the development of a natural gas master plan that will allow gas to be used for the transformation of the economy of southern African countries.
In addition, given the proportion of reserves that the country has, Mozambique has “projects in the pipeline for transformation into liquid and in this way facilitate the transport to other markets such as Europe, Asia and other countries on the continent.
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“It is a resource that has enormous potential for economic transformation, not only through the revenues that will come from exports, but also to contribute to increased economic growth and diversification of the Mozambican economy,” he said.
He also said that the country relied on the support of the ADB in the funding processes, stressing that one of the challenges facing Mozambique was to “ensure continuity of funding to turn ideas that could benefit from the projects” that it had available into reality.
The annual meetings of the AfDB, the most important event of the institution that has 54 African member states and 27 non-African ones, is taking place from Monday until Friday in Accra, under the theme, “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa”.
