Maputo, May 19, 2026 (Lusa) - Italian energy company Eni said its Clean Cooking Programme distributed over 200,000 improved stoves in Mozambique, benefiting about 1 million people.
The company expects to increase production by expanding its current unit.
The company explained in a statement that Eni Natural Energies Mozambique, which focusses on energy transition, has distributed more than 200,000 improved stoves since 2023 in Maputo province in the southern region, and Sofala and Manica in the central region, benefiting about 1 million people.
It added that the initiative aimed to expand access to clean energy, reduce biomass use and improve the health of the beneficiary population, "especially among the most vulnerable groups", through technology that burns traditional fuels more efficiently than traditional open stoves.
The statement said the project currently employs 120 young people in Mozambique "across the entire value chain", from production to distribution.
The company expects a new facility, which workers began building on Monday, to increase daily stove production from 350 to 500 a day.
The project relies on support from the Dom Bosco Higher Institute (ISDB), strengthening partnerships to create more technical training opportunities and internship programmes for local students.
This initiative also responds to the growing demand for stoves while "generating new employment opportunities," according to the Italian energy firm.
An Eni source told Lusa on Monday that the company was assessing the possibility of moving forward with a third FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas) platform to exploit liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Rovuma basin in northern Mozambique.
The source said the basin, where Eni operates an LNG production platform, Coral Sul, and expects to start a second one, Coral Norte, in 2028, "possesses significant natural gas reserves, allowing the implementation of ongoing projects and creating opportunities for new developments."
"In this context, Eni is currently assessing the possibility of moving forward with a third project based on FLNG technology, which the Coral Sul project successfully demonstrated," the company said.
Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said in Maputo on 2 October that Coral Norte LNG production would start in less than three years, making the country the third-largest producer in Africa.
"We started the timeline for 2028. This means we started today [2 October] with the FID (final investment decision) and, within three years, we will start production," Descalzi said during the signing of the FID for the second floating platform, Coral Norte, worth $7.2 billion (€6.2 billion).
The company head, which operates the identical Coral Norte and Coral Sul floating FLNG platforms, said it "will make Mozambique the third-largest LNG producer in Africa," after Nigeria and Algeria, and will double Coral Sul's current production to 7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
Mozambique has approved three development megaprojects to exploit the LNG reserves of the Rovuma basin, which rank among the largest in the world.
These include a project by TotalEnergies (13 mtpa), which has resumed following suspension due to terrorist attacks in the region, and another by ExxonMobil (18 mtpa), awaiting a final investment decision, located on the Afungi peninsula.
VIYS/LYT // ADB.
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