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On a wave of optimism about its offshore Rovuma Basin reserves, Mozambique has emerged as a poster boy for the ‘Africa rising’ agenda. With at least 100tcf of conventional gas reserves – and potentially more than double that amount, according to a range of project sources – this global-scale resource should drive the emergence of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry and substantial domestic and regional electricity supply in the next decade. Mozambique enthusiasts add that the country enjoys several other advantages, including proximity to markets and relatively streamlined decision-making (especially when compared to its potential rival for LNG export markets, neighbouring Tanzania).

Bahrain-based Midal Cables group has started production at its new aluminium and aluminium alloy rod, wire and conductor factory in Matola, operated by local subsidiary Midal Cables International Limitada. The plant will initially focus on supplying major transmission and other projects in Mozambique and the wider Southern African Development Community region, Midal Cables director Rashid Al-Zayani told the Africa Energy Forum in Dubai on 10 June. Midal has proposed recycling old conductors from state utility Electricidade de Moçambique’s grid to modernise the transmission network at much cheaper cost, Zayani said.

No one doubts that gas fields in the Rovuma Basin offshore Mozambique and Tanzania hold huge reserves of gas. A 27 April-8 May International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission to Maputo concluded: “Mozambique’s plans to develop its oil and gas sector in the Rovuma Basin will represent one of the largest investments ever seen in Africa (up to $100bn) and could transform the country into the third largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the world.” The critical question is how quickly that gas can be brought to market, and in what direction it goes.

Salvador Namburete has been appointed president of the new Mozambique arm of a major Portuguese bank, the former energy minister told African Energy on 8 June. Pending a formal announcement, he declined to say which bank. Namburete joined the government following Mozambique’s 2004 general and presidential elections; he left in the reshuffle that followed President Filipe Nyusi’s victory at the polls last October 2014. Namburete received a lifetime achievement award at the Africa Energy Forum in Dubai. Several leading Mozambicans have senior posts in local banks.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has selected the CCS joint venture of Chiyoda Corporation, CB&I and Saipem as contractor for the initial development of an onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) park at Afungi, on behalf of the co-venturers in Offshore Area 1. The selection is subject to negotiation and entry into a definitive agreement before Anadarko and its co-venturers take a final investment decision (FID).“I am incredibly proud of our co-venture for all of the accomplishments achieved to date, including securing more than 8m t/yr in non-binding long-term offtake agreements, which are now progressing toward binding sales and purchase agreements.

The 2014-2019 five-year plan approved by parliament on14 April lists five new dams as development priorities to support the government’s strategic objective of increasing access to energy. The plan includes the first phase of the 1,500MW Mphanda Nkuwa dam and the 1,245MW Cahora Bassa North, 612MW Lupata and 210MW Boroma dams on the Zambezi River, and the 60MW Alto Malema dam on the Lúrio River in northern Nampula Province. The five dams represent a combined investment of about $7bn. The projects are at varying stages of development.

The Instituto Nacional de Petróleo (INP) has again extended the closing date for the fifth licensing round, which will now conclude at noon on 30 July. The INP said companies had asked for a further delay to allow the completion of the required legal documentation. The round was launched in London and Maputo in October 2014, offering 15 blocks, covering a total 76,800km². Eleven are in the offshore: three-ultra deep areas in the Rovuma Basin, two to the south in the Angoche Basin and six in the Zambezi Delta. Three of the four onshore blocks surround the producing Pande and Temane fields, while a fourth is available at Palmeira, just north of Maputo. The round was initially due to close on 20 January, then 30 April .

Operator Anadarko has failed to find hydrocarbons with the Kifaru-1 well on the Rovuma Onshore concession. Partner Wentworth Resources said Kifaru-1 was drilled to a total depth of 3,100 metres in Eocene-age rocks. The well encountered all targeted zones in the Miocene, Oligocene and Eocene formations but failed to find an economic reservoir and, as a result, the well has been plugged and abandoned. The well completes the partners’ drilling obligations for the block. The preceding well on the block, Tembo-1, found 11 metres of gas pay in December, and the partners are evaluating their options.

The government is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to review and evaluate the front-end engineering design (FEED) and field development plan for Eni’s floating liquefied natural gas development plan. The project is funded from a World Bank International Development Association credit for the Mining and Gas Technical Assistance Project. Eni launched FEED activities last May for a floating LNG vessel for the Coral South Development Project. Three consortia are competing for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning contract, and the FEED process is due for completion by end-April 2015,

Mozambique has emerged from an election year with a record of improving the regulatory environment for its oil and gas sector. President Armando Guebuza’s outgoing government – to be replaced by a probably similar Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) administration led by Filipe Nyusi – has passed several key items of legislation, geared towards encouraging Eni and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to reach their final investment decisions in 2016. In August, passage of a new Petroleum Law, to replace 2001 legislation, brought increased clarity and coherence to the sector, while in October, the state Instituto Nacional de Petróleo offered 15 blocks to interested investors.

Impressive reserves announcements have fuelled speculation about an East African gas boom based on the Rovuma Basin offshore Mozambique and Tanzania, and projections of Asian demand and prices. However, how far Africa’s east coast will go in developing export liquefied natural gas (LNG) plans, local industries and gas-fired power generation that might have a ‘transformative’ impact on Mozambique, Tanzania and potentially the wider region remains questionable. African Energy’s analysis of current industry and policy trends suggests that Mozambique is ahead of Tanzania in a race to develop a viable export industry, as East Africa’s wannabe gas giants enter a crucial year.

With a plummeting oil price making life difficult for Africa’s explorers, SacOil Holdings is looking at developing a pipeline to import Mozambican gas into South Africa as a strategy to diversify its portfolio. On 3 December it signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation, which has a significant shareholding in the company, and Instituto de Gestão das Participações do Estado (Igepe), the investment arm of the Mozambican government, with the aim of evaluating the technical and commercial feasibility of the project.

The southern regional water authority Administração Regional de Águas do Sul (ARA Sul), invites expressions of interest by 22 December from consultants to carry out feasibility studies for the construction of a multi-purpose dam at Mapai in the southern province of Gaza.The proposed dam is one option to be studied as part of a wider flood control programme for the Limpopo Basin. In 2013, severe flooding in the lower stretches of the Limpopo resulted in the deaths of at least 47 people, the evacuation of thousands of inhabitants, the submersion of the city of Chókwè and the destruction of thousands of hectares of crops.

Judging by the headlines, 2014 has been a significant year for improving electricity supply in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where only 290m of the 915m population has access and the total number without grid connections is still rising, according to the International Energy Agency. Several independent power projects (IPPs) have reached financial close, including Ghana’s long-awaited Cenpower deal; others are almost there – most notably Nigeria’s template-setting Azura-Edo IPP, whose impending completion was a focus for participants at the 24-25 November Africa Investment Exchange: Energy (AIX) meeting in London. Multilaterals and governments report progress in efforts to develop ‘transformational’ schemes including Grand Inga and strategic transmission projects.

Following the passage of legislation designed to bring clarity and coherence to the hydrocarbons sector, and an unexpectedly bruising presidential election, the government launched its fifth licensing round at parallel events in London and Maputo in late October. Companies have until 20 January to submit bids, with bid evaluations to take place in February; shortlisted companies will be invited to negotiate exploration and production contracts in March. The state Instituto Nacional de Petróleo is offering 15 blocks, covering a total 76,800km2, eleven in the offshore (comprised of three-ultra deep areas in the Rovuma Basin