Mozambique Pitches Sasol and ROMPCO on $250 Million Offshore Gas Project
Key Takeaways
- •Mozambique is seeking investment from Sasol and ROMPCO for a $250 million offshore gas project that could deliver additional gas supplies to South Africa.
- •The project plans to deploy floating storage and regasification units at Inhassoro and the Port of Beira as part of Mozambique's ambition to become a regional power hub.
- •South Africa's existing gas supplies from Sasol-operated onshore fields in Mozambique are expected to be depleted within several years, increasing the urgency of new supply options.
- •Mozambique's state energy firm ENH targets having the infrastructure in place by 2030 or 2031, in step with the Rovuma Basin LNG projects led by TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and Eni.
- •In late 2025, the government approved a decree granting a 30-year concession for building and operating natural gas infrastructure at the Port of Beira and the Inhassoro site.
Mozambique is in talks with South African energy company Sasol and pipeline firm ROMPCO about potential investment in a new $250 million gas project offshore Mozambique that could channel additional gas supplies to South Africa.
The plans call for floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), vessels that store liquefied natural gas and convert it back into gas for pipeline delivery, at the coastal town of Inhassoro and at the port of Beira, part of the country's ambition to become a "power hub" for the region, Rudêncio Morais, chief executive and chairman of Mozambique's national oil and gas company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), told Reuters in an interview published on Monday.
The outreach centers on the two companies already central to the countries' gas trade: South Africa currently receives gas from onshore fields in Mozambique operated by Sasol, but those supplies are expected to be depleted within several years, giving new supply options added weight for the region. Mozambique, by contrast, holds vast offshore gas reserves discovered and under development by international supermajors including ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Eni.
"We want our infrastructure by 2030 or 2031, in step with Mozambique LNG, Rovuma LNG and Coral North," Morais told Reuters, referring to the three projects led by TotalEnergies, Exxon, and Eni, respectively.
State-owned ENH is part of the contract awards Mozambique made last year, when the country granted a 30-year concession to its biggest state firms to build and operate infrastructure for the receipt, regasification, storage, and transport of natural gas. At the end of 2025, the government approved a decree granting the concession for the construction and operation of natural gas infrastructure at the Port of Beira and at the smaller Inhassoro site.
The FSRU to be anchored at Beira and Inhambane "is intended to ensure that the country has the necessary infrastructure for the transport of LNG from the different projects being implemented in the Rovuma Basin, as well as to ensure the sustainability of industrialisation of the country through the share of gas devoted to the domestic," Mozambique said in November last year.
Attention now turns to whether Sasol and ROMPCO commit investment, and how quickly the Beira and Inhassoro concessions move from decree to construction, with ENH targeting infrastructure in place by 2030 or 2031 alongside the Rovuma Basin LNG ventures.
Reporting by Michael Kern for OilPrice.com.
