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Eni signed a co-operation agreement with Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) on 17 October to strengthen their relationship in a number of areas, particularly in the upstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sectors. Eni said the agreement would allow the companies to jointly pursue opportunities worldwide. Eni and Kogas expect the co-operation agreement to facilitate the LNG development of Area 4 in Mozambique, where Eni is operator with a 50% indirect interest. Kogas, Galp Energia and the state Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos are partners in the agreement, with 10% interest each, while China National Petroleum Corporation has 20% indirect participation via a holding in Eni East Africa.

The Institute of National Petroleum (INP) will launch its fifth licensing round in London on 23 October. The round will offer 15 blocks, of which three are located in the deep-water Rovuma Basin, outboard from the existing licensed blocks. Another two are located in the offshore Angoche area, and six in the offshore Zambezi Delta. Onshore, three blocks are on offer around the Pande-Temane concession, and one in the Palmeira area in southern Mozambique, immediately north of Maputo. The government is keen to increase exploration after the success of drilling in the Rovuma Basin, where Eni and Anadarko plan a major liquefied natural gas development.

Veteran Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo) leader Afonso Dhlakama’s surprise return to the bush in October 2012 was an unsettling reminder of the fragility of post-conflict Mozambique, as guerrilla roadblocks returned and coal exports were halted in the central region. Renamo’s rebellion was triggered by demands for a greater share of state jobs and resources. A peace agreement signed on 24 August 2014 promised jobs, above all in the army and police, and set a platform for campaigning to start for general elections on 15 October.

The Central Térmica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG) joint venture between Electridade de Mozambique (EDM) and South Africa’s Sasol was inaugurated in a ceremony on 28 August. The 175MW power plant will run on gas from Sasol’s central processing facility at Temane, in Inhambane Province. The plant, which will reach full operation in October, is owned 51% by EDM and 49% by Sasol. It is equipped with 18 Wärtsilä engines of 9.8 MW each – 16 for basic power generation duty, plus two for maintenance/standby and to increase the availability of the basic plant.

Ncondezi Energy said on 9 July it had “entered the final stages of negotiations” on a power purchase agreement (PPA) and power concession agreement (PCA) for its 300MW power project in Tete Province. AIM-listed Ncondezi said that it had concluded all the steps required for the agreements and was in the final stages of negotiations with the energy ministry and state power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM). Formal submission of both agreements is expected by mid-August. The company is developing an integrated coal mine and power plant, which will supply electricity to the northern grid.

South Africa’s Sasol has announced a joint prefeasibility study for a large-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, based on gas from the Rovuma Basin. The study, which is being conducted in conjunction with Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos and Area 4 operator Eni, will assess the viability and benefits of such a plant to the region.

Mozambique is overhauling its power sector to diversify away from reliance on hydropower, and to reduce transmission losses. Speaking at the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) in Istanbul on 19 June, energy minister Salvador Namburete told delegates: “There is a need to diversify the energy mix. We have drafted an energy plan for the next ten years, including hydropower, coal, natural gas, wind and solar… We need to put in place 5,000MW.”

Liverpool-based Clarke Energy has announced a deal with Kuvaninga Energia to supply ten Jenbacher J624 natural gas engines for a 40MW power plant near Chokwé. The plant is being developed as an independent power project owned by Kuvaninga Energia; comprising local energy company Kuvaninga Moçambique (25%), Enventure Partners (37.5%) and Investec Bank (37.5%). It reached financial close on 30 November 2013. South Africa’s Group 5 is the turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contractor, and South African company ADC Projects will run day-to-day operations at the power plant.

Anadarko Petroleum plans an exploration programme on the Rovuma Onshore Block, with two firm wells and one conditional well. The Tembo-1 well is due to spud imminently, to be followed by Kifaru-1. Wentworth Resources managing director Geoff Bury told Global Pacific & Partners’ Africa Independents’ Forum the rig had arrived on location in May. He said the Tembo prospect was thought to be oil-prone “but we won’t be disappointed if it’s gas. Quite frankly we’re little guys, we’re looking for a discovery.”

The government signed a concession agreement with a consortium led by Saudi company Acwa Power on 14 March for the construction of a coal-fired power station at Vale’s Moatize mine, in Tete Province, some 1,500km north of Maputo.The mine-mouth power station, which will produce 300MW in its first phase, will burn coal mined by Vale which is not good enough for export. A second phase will lift capacity to 600MW. The project will be run by Acwa Power Moatize Termoelectrica SA, a consortium whose main shareholders are Acwa Power, Vale and Japan’s Mitsui, along with two Mozambican minority shareholders – the Whatana Investment Group, headed by former first lady Graça Machel, with 8%, and Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), with 5%.

Brazil’s Vale has given the UK’s Kentz Corporation a follow-on contract for Phase 2 of the Moatize Coal Mining Project in Tete Province, one of the largest coal mining operations in Africa. Kentz was awarded the Phase 1 contract in 2009. Kentz’s Construction Business Unit will provide structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and piping construction services for the coal processing and handling plant, crusher, stackers, reclaimers and conveyors. Moatize is Vale’s biggest investment in Africa. Coal production started in July 2011, and the coal is carried along the Sena railroad to the port of Beira, from where it is shipped to export markets.

South Africa’s SacOil on 19 February signed an expression of interest (EoI) with the Instituto de Gestão das Participações do Estado (Igepe), which manages investment portfolios and shares on behalf of the government of Mozambique, and South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC), to investigate gas opportunities relating to the future distribution of gas in southern Africa. The PIC is the largest fund manager in Africa and is wholly owned by the South African government. SacOil’s non-executive chairman is former South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni, and its shares are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and London’s Alternative Investment Market.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) signed a loan agreement on 13 January for a Y17.3bn ($170m) loan for the 100MW Maputo combined cycle gas power plant project. Jica said the project, which will use domestic gas, aims to stabilise and improve power supply in the south, which is on a separate grid from the centre and north. Demand for electricity in the south is expected to grow at an average of 18%/yr over the next five years, making increased generation capacity a priority.

Anadarko Petroleum has signed provisional liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales deals covering about two-thirds of the output of its first planned LNG train. In a statement accompanying its 2013 results, the US company said: “To date, the partners have reached multiple non-binding Heads of Agreement for long-term LNG sales to buyers in premium Asian markets covering approximately two-thirds of the first 5m t/yr train.” A number of Asian companies have stakes in the Anadarko and Eni-led consortia exploring offshore northern Mozambique, including Thailand’s PTTEP, India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India and Bharat Petroleum, Japan’s Mitsui, South Korea’s Kogas and China National Petroleum Corporation.

Danish company Per Aarsleff has signed a $96m turnkey contract with Electricidade de Moçambique to construct 140km of 275kV transmission lines and 100km of 110kV transmission lines, as well as four transformer stations to the north and north-east of Maputo. The work is being funded by Danida Business Finance, the development co-operation arm of the Danish Foreign Ministry, and will be undertaken as part of a joint venture between Aarsleff and Portuguese construction company Sociedade de Empreitadas e Trabalhos Hidráulicos.