The Mozambican government has awarded a sweeping 30-year concession to its top state-owned enterprises to construct and operate crucial liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, including pipelines. 

Approved by the government last week, this move formally consolidates control over a vital regional gas pipeline that serves South Africa. The concession will be managed by a special-purpose vehicle, including government-selected technical and financial partners who will provide necessary expertise and capital.

The exclusive deal tasks the national oil company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), along with ports and railways company CFM, electricity company Electricidade de Moçambique, and Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric (HCB), with developing LNG facilities at the strategic Port of Beira and the smaller Inhassoro site. 

A core element of the agreement is the inclusion of the 865-kilometer (537.5-mile) Mozambique- South Africa gas pipeline (also known as the Rompco pipeline), a primary link between Mozambique’s burgeoning gas fields and major energy consumers in South Africa. 

Rompco is already a public-private partnership, with the Mozambican and South African governments each holding a 40% stake, and the energy company Sasol holding the remaining 20%.

The National Petroleum Regulator (INP) noted that the overall project will be anchored by a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) near Beira and Inhambane, which will be connected to the pipeline, boosting its utility. 

The new infrastructure aims to provide the necessary logistical backbone for transporting LNG from large-scale projects in the northern Rovuma Basin, where international giants like TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil are active.

Furthermore, the plan mandates that a portion of the gas be channeled into the domestic market to spur industrialization, addressing a key national development goal. 

The efforts to develop Mozambique’s vast gas reserves, however, have been hampered by an ongoing Islamist-linked insurgency in the country’s north, which has notably delayed TotalEnergies’ multi-billion-dollar LNG plant, despite recent security improvements.

A Sasol spokesperson lauded the new concession, stating, “This is the logistical backbone that was missing to transform the potential of Rovuma gas into real value for the country.”

The announcement signals Maputo's continued commitment to realizing its potential as a global energy player.