EU considers acquiring mozambican gas
The European Union is considering acquiring Mozambican natural gas as an alternative to Russian gas, according to the outgoing EU ambassador to Maputo, Antonio Gaspar.
Cited by the Portuguese news agency Lusa, Gaspar said that, in light of the energy constraints facing the EU as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Mozambican gas “with the presence of large European multinational companies, now has an even more important and strategic value”.
The Russian assault against Ukraine, he said, had led the EU to the conclusion that “we cannot trust our former partner (Russia), which is an authoritarian state and is using gas as an instrument of war”.
“We have adopted a new strategy in Europe, named ‘Repower EU’, and it has several elements”, said Gaspar. “With regard to gas, which is considered a transitional form of energy, we are looking for alternative suppliers. Mozambique is among the alternatives”.
Mozambique has proven reserves of more than 180 trillion cubic feet of gas. The first liquefied natural gas project to come onstream is the Coral Sul floating platform off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado. The operator of the Coral Sul field is the Italian energy company, ENI.
The first production and export of Coral Sul LNG is expected later this year. British Petroleum (BP) has contracted to purchase all the LNG produced by the floating platform.
Gaspar said that, despite the advances made by the Mozambican defence and security forces, with their Rwandan and SADC allies, in the fight against islamist terrorism in Cabo Delgado, the threat remains.
He thought “great advances” had been made, “and the insurgency no longer has the capacity to control key territories permanently”.
Nonetheless the jihadist threat was likely to continue, although in a localized form. Everything indicates, Gaspar added, That some of the terrorists “are mixed with the population, and that terrorists are also arriving from other places”.
