President Filipe Nyusi on 23 November formally inaugurated the Coral Sul Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) project, which is anchored off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado. Speaking in the Cabo Delgado provincial capital, Pemba, he said the start of hydrocarbon operations in the Rovuma Basin raises confidence about the evolution of the Mozambican economy in the coming period.
President Nyusi believed that the production and export of LNG from the floating platform will have a positive impact on economic growth and will improve the public accounts and the balance of trade. The contribution from LNG to the economy will increase exponentially in the coming years as on-shore liquefaction units also come onstream, increasing LNG production fivefold.
The President was speaking at the launch ceremony in the presence of all the partners in Area Four of the Rovuma Basin - the project operator, the Italian energy company ENI, the American oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Kogas of South Korea, Galp of Portugal, and Mozambique's own National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH).
"This undertaking", President Nyusi said, "has raised the levels of confidence and expectations for the future so that Mozambique can occupy a significant position as an exporter of LNG in the phase of energy transition".
The start of LNG production, he continued, confirms the good moment the country is going through as the recipient of multi-billion dollar foreign investments, "after a period in which nobody believed in Mozambique". But President Nyusi urged the Mozambican public not to put all their hopes on gas as the only solution for developing the country. Instead, he stressed the need to increase production and productivity in traditional activities, such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism and electricity generation.
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The President stressed that putting Mozambican LNG on the world market is the culmination of intensive activities of research, development, and implementation of the Coral Sul FLNG project which are safeguarding the public interest and maximising the benefits from the country's hydrocarbon resources.
President Nyusi pledged to do all in his power to ensure that the dividends from Coral Sul meet the real needs of the Mozambican people.
The Chief Executive Officer of ENI in Mozambique, Guido Brusco, said the Italian company is proud to celebrate the inauguration and the start of LNG production. The determinant factor "was the support of the Mozambican government and the common purpose and success shared by all the partners", he added.
The world's major consumers of LNG, said Brusco, are seeking new sources to support their energy security. This could be an opportunity for Mozambique, bearing in mind the huge proven resources of gas it has. He raised the possibility that ENI could introduce a second floating platform in deep waters.
