One of Africa’s leading gas exporting countries Mozambique made an impressive $1.967 billion from liquified natural gas (LNG) exports in 2024, according to Bank of Mozambique’s 2024 balance of payments report.
The country’s LNG exports jumped by up 14% last year compared to 2023 levels, close to matching coal exports in terms of value.
According to the report, the first nine months of 2024 saw natural gas exports reach almost $1.467 billion, a 24.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
“The growth in natural gas revenues is associated with the increase in gas exports from Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, in a context in which the average price on the international market fell by 15%,” the report states.
While coal still leads in export value, its value decreased by over 9% to $2.006 billion in 2024.
“The drop of around 10% is due to the reduction in quality, due to the failure to complete the restructuring project at the factory [in Tete], with the added problem of the price on the international market having fallen by 19.0%,” the document asserts.
Overall, Mozambican total exports in 2024 fell by 0.8% compared to the previous year to $8.211 billion (37.2% of GDP), while imports fell by 8.8% to $8.375 billion.
Overall, the country’s LNG exports remained resilient even as traditional exports declined.
The modest growth suggests steady performance amid broader export challenges, including political uncertainty and falling gemstone sales.
What you should know
Mozambique has three mega-development projects approved to exploit the Rovuma Basin LNG, considered one of the largest untapped reserves in the world.
Last year, the country made over $200 million from its first offshore LNG project in the Rovuma basin.
The deepwater Coral South floating platform, located off the coast of Cabo Delgado, began production in November 2022.
Coral Sul, operated by Italian Eni, is the only major producing gas project in the Rovuma Basin.
TotalEnergies’s project is still on hold due to safety concerns, while another by ExxonMobil is awaiting a final investment decision, both on the Afungi peninsula.
Mozambique expects to raise $23 billion over 30 years from the Coral North project, the second platform owned by oil company Eni for LNG production in the Rovuma Basin
In April, the government approved an investment of $7.2 billion for the Coral North LNG project, with a production forecast of 3.5 million tonnes per year and start-up in 2028.
Since entering the global LNG export markets in 2024, Mozambique’s earnings from gas sales have continued to improve.
