JOHANNESBURG,
South Africa, December 30, 2020/ -- For many years, and as it was
pursuing
ambitions to become a global LNG exporter, Mozambique has
struggled to generate enough energy for its domestic market. We are now
about to see an energy revolution thanks to great gas discoveries made
by international investors over the past decade. While international
technological innovation and skillful know-how will be driving such
projects, we must all push for a transfer of knowledge throughout the
development of Mozambique’s LNG projects.
The need for more
collaboration and shared experience among African energy experts is
going to be critical for Mozambique as it pushes towards monetizing
massive gas discoveries. Similarly, recognizing that the state and the
private sector need to play a role in the development of critical energy
infrastructure to pave the way for domestic gas utilization will be key
to Mozambique’s development and also solving energy poverty issues.
“Mozambique
can learn from the success and struggles of other African countries on
the critical role of gas in our development,” stated Florival Mucave,
President of the Mozambique Oil & Gas Chamber, who firmly believes
that increased collaboration between upstream and downstream players
across the value-chain will benefit Mozambique.
Mozambican
stakeholders from the public and private sector recognize that the
country is at a crossroad in its development. In this context, building
the right energy mix while taking into consideration climate issues is
key for the country.
The African
energy industry is capable of embracing climate concerns and at the
same time continuing to develop its natural resources to benefit the
poor, create jobs and promote an inclusive economic development.
Mozambique’s
LNG is important to the world and will act as a bridge to other sources
of energy, and local businesses should be ready to participate in this
development. Local content and jobs must not be catch phrases, they must
be real. African businesses and entrepreneurs have a role to play and
must push for an enabling environment that will spur investment,
entrepreneurship and growth.
“The government and energy companies
have recognized the amazing opportunity that gas offers to change our
economic ambitions, and there is a clear intent to monetize these
resources for the benefit of Mozambicans. This will be possible only
through an increase in investment into infrastructure,” added Florival
Mucave.
“The issues around domestic gas and local concerns will
be resolved with a market driven approach. This will pave the way for
the use affordable and abundant gas to launch an industrial and
agricultural-led growth, improve our trading abilities regionally,
effectively increase the Mozambican spending power, and revitalize our
economy in a post covid environment,” he concluded.
Mozambique is
already benefiting from its collaboration with the African Energy
Chamber, the largest energy industry lobby group in the continent. Such
collaborative platforms between the public and private sector needs to
be encouraged to drive investment in gas and monetization across
industries, for the benefits of African factories and households.
“We
stand ready to share lessons learnt from other gas producers with
Mozambique. There are a lot of resources across our network when it
comes to gas monetization, including successful deals, in-depth industry
experience and market driven policies that can ensure Mozambique’s
energy success,” declared NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African
Energy Chamber.
“Mozambique is in a unique position to capitalize
on these opportunities and I am confident it will. Our industry needs
to collaborate with government to develop smart policies and drive up
the economy. Total, Exxon, ENI are part of the solution and we must work
with them and provide the incentives to collectives achieve such
opportunities that benefit Africans as a whole,” he added.
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