Maputo, Dec. 3, 2025 (Lusa) - The presidents of Mozambique and South Africa are inaugurating the country's first domestic gas factory in Inhassoro, in the Mozambican province of Inhambane, on Wednesday, an investment involving the South African oil company Sasol.
According to a source in the Mozambican government, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's participation in the inauguration of the domestic gas processing and production unit follows an invitation from his Mozambican counterpart, Daniel Chapo. The investment will enable Mozambique to cut imports of this product by more than 70%, with the expectation of lower prices.
This is the new Integrated Processing Plant run by Sasol, as a result of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Mozambique and the oil company, an investment of $1 billion (€866 million) for the production of cooking gas in the country, taking into account that it already exploits gas production in Temane (Inhassoro) and Pande (Govuro), in the province of Inhambane.
Sasol announced in early November that it had conducted a trial shipment of the first batch of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), known as domestic gas, from Mozambique, ahead of the plant's inauguration.
The company explained that the successful shipment of the first batch of LPG was an important milestone in the commissioning process for the new infrastructure.
The new unit will enable the country to reduce its dependence on imports of this product, increase fuel availability in the domestic market, and generate new business and employment opportunities in the energy sector, said Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Estevão Pale.
The minister indicated that the government also intends to move forward with opening up space for private sector participation in this gas project and other related fuel and electricity projects, while ensuring better state regulation and oversight.
The PSA project envisages the production of 53 million megajoules of natural gas per year, which will enable the implementation of the Temane Thermal Power Plant (CTT), and the production of 4,000 barrels of light oil per day, according to data from Mozambique's government.
The CTT will have the capacity to produce 450 megawatts of electricity and the processing unit will process 30,000 tonnes of LPG per year.
The first stone of this unit was laid in 2022, and Mozambique's government had previously estimated that production at that unit would start in 2024, but this was postponed to March and later to November of this year.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
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