By Paul Fauvet
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The US oil and gas giant, ExxonMobil, has announced that it expects to generate, over the course of 30 years, up to 150 billion US dollars in revenue for the Mozambican state.
According to Arne Gibbs, the ExxonMobil Managing Director in Mozambique, speaking in Maputo on Thursday at Mozambique’s 12th Mining and Energy Conference, the company is close to its Final Investment Decision (FID). Gibbs expected the FID to be announced in the second half of 2026.
This appears to remove the uncertainty as to whether the ExxonMobil investment will indeed go ahead. Gibbs told the conference that in April the company confirmed the submission of the project’s new development plan to Mozambican government.
“I would like to say that it will increase government revenue by 60 per cent during the life of this project. We guarantee that the new concept of Rovuma LNG will allow for greater production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with significant economies of scale”, Gibbs declared.
According to Gibbs, Rovuma LNG is the largest project in the history of the African continent and “its technical concept represents a decisive change, involved in two years of engineering that culminated in the adopted modular model that will allow for the production of more LNG at optimized costs.”
“The secret to the success of this concept is very simple: economies of scale. If you can do more, bigger size, more LNG volume, for the same price, you always win. We remain committed to making the final investment decision during the second half of this year”, Gibbs said.
He claimed that economic benefits will flow from the project even before any LNG is produced. “There will be financial inflows for the State even during the construction phase, through taxes, fees, and participation from Mozambican commercial banks”, he said.
The Italian energy company, ENI, which heads two floating LNG platforms anchored in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, told the conference that Mozambique is consolidating itself as one of the main global LNG producers.
According to Marica Calabrese, director of Eni Rovuma Basin, LNG production began in 2022, and the first platform, Coral Sul, exports around one shipment of LNG per week.
“The Area 4 partners, led by Eni”, he said, “were chosen to make this project fundamental for the country. This project represents an unprecedented technological achievement, being the only floating platform in the world that produces gas in ultra-deep waters. The operation is conducted with high international standards of health, safety, and technical integrity”.
According to Calabrese, Coral Sul has already channeled nearly 300 million US dollars in revenue to the Mozambican state and “it has carried out more than 150 shipments of LNG for export.”
ENI’s second platform, Coral Norte, is expected to start production by the second quarter of 2028. (PF)
