The future is very bright for Mozambique’s oil and gas projects, according to Arne Gibbs, Exxon Mobile General Manager and Lead Country Manager in Mozambique.
Speaking on Thursday at the 9th Mozambique Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition, Gibbs said that the global energy mix is changing, with countries moving away from fossils fuels to cleaner energy sources. “Demand for cleaner energies and electricity is increasing,” he said, adding that the opportunity for natural gas is increasing.
Indeed, production of natural gas is declining in Europe and imports are skyrocketing in the Asia Pacific area, which are larger than all regions combined, with Mozambique well-positioned to access Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) markets in Europe and Asia Pacific.
However, he warned that there are risks such as the insecurity in the northern Cabo Delgado province, uncertainty surrounding the fluctuation of natural gas prices in global markets, among others.
Gibbs optimism was echoed by other panel members, who also raised concerns what they see as challenges that need to be addressed.
Francisco Augusto, Local Manager of the South African oil company SASOL, said that challenges for Mozambique include lack of infrastructure that facilitate shipment of gas from production to markets; access to financing of mega-projects; legal challenges from environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, among others.
Crucially, Mozambique should ensure that it creates and expands local markets that can have a multiplier effect on the economy and aggregate value to the natural gas, said Augusto.
Regionally, Mozambique could continue having a market in South Africa, which is changing its energy matrix from coal to less polluting sources, such as natural gas, he added.
However, failure to address some of the concerns that deal with internal challenges, could delay the achievement of such a confident outlook.
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