A group of companies has successfully completed the engineering design for Beluluane Gas Company's (BGC) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal, due to start supplying gas from 2024.

The group of companies comprises South Africa's Gigajoule, the French multinational energy company TotalEnergies, Mozambique's natural gas distributor Matola Gas Company (MGC) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH).

The project is expected to meet the growing demand for energy in Mozambique and South Africa through MGC's pipeline network, which will be upgraded to increase its capacity to supply Rompco's full potential.

According to Jurie Swart, the CEO of Gigajoule, the Mozambican government awarded the LNG import concession to BGC and approved the construction of a new 28-inch pipeline. This concession features the operation of a permanently moored floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), marine infrastructure and a new high pressure pipeline.

The gas infrastructure will connect FSRU to a new 2,000 MW gas-fired power plant located in Matola, capable of supplying industries with cleaner, saleable power at a competitive market rate.

The project includes an onshore LNG Truck Loading Facility (TLF) capable of supplying customers by road transport that are not located near the pipeline distribution network.

"This becomes even more important since the announcement of the 100 MW Electricity Regulation Act amendment earlier this year," Swart notes.

The project is located near MGC's existing infrastructure and is only 90 km from the Rompco pipeline, making it unnecessary to build a new supply line to Gauteng, South Africa.