The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Estêvão Pale, has given assurances that large-scale distribution of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), better known as cooking gas, will begin throughout the country in early November.

He was speaking today in the district of Vilankulo, in the province of Inhambane, on the sidelines of a consultation meeting to make the project viable.

The refinery, led by SASOL, is in the experimental testing phase and will use natural gas from the Pande and Temane fields in that province.

Annual production of around 30 million tons of cooking gas is expected to reduce the country's LPG imports by up to 70%. The advance is expected to relieve public accounts pressured by imports of around 48,000 m³ of LPG per year.

"It's a new project that will allow us to reduce LPG imports. We are importing LPG, commonly known as cooking gas. It will allow at least around 70% of this gas to be produced in Mozambique for domestic consumption and possibly at more affordable prices," he said, quoted by Rádio Moçambique.