The first shipment of liquefied natural gas from the Rovuma basin in Cabo Delgado province should take place within the next two weeks, according to assurances from the Minister of Economy and Finance Max Tonela.

"Esperamos que acontecer antes do final do presente mês de Outubro a primeira exportação de gás natural liquefeito produzido pelo país" disse Max Tonela, citado pela Lusa, a partir de Nova York.

This will be Mozambique's "baptism" into the gas producers circuit. The responsibility lies with the Coral Sul FNLG project, in the open sea, whose reserves are described as being one of the largest in the world. The platform led by the Italian oil company Eni will produce 3.4 million tons per year.

The countdown is already on, as the gas has entered processing, awaiting the arrival of the first cargo ship from British Petroleum, which bought the production for 20 years.

In Cabo Delgado there are two other larger projects, one led by TotalEnergies and the other by Exxon Mobil/Eni, and their liquefaction plants were projected to be onshore, in the Afungi peninsula, but are waiting for decisions by the oil companies to move forward.

The TotalEnergies project was already underway and was suspended in March 2021 due to armed attacks in the Cabo Delgado region.

The projects have been suspended due to armed violence, but the government is projecting other scenarios to take advantage of the resources given the growing demand on the international market.

Max Tonela says that the military intervention and other ongoing investments in the region are aimed at stabilizing it, protecting the population, and allowing investment to move forward.

The possibility was admitted when asked directly about the possibility of more deep-sea projects.

"We have prioritized ensuring the resumption of the construction work of the two onshore liquefaction lines, promoted by Area 1, and all the work that has been carried out is aimed at restoring a situation of normality for families, for the affected populations, but also to promote the investments that will result in a more sustained development of the region."

"Among the projects is the resumption of Total, but given the volume of gas resources that exist and the challenges at the global level of demand and diversification of sources, the Government is available to discuss other scenarios that do not jeopardize the development of onshore projects," he concluded.