Mozambique's gas week: ExxonMobil takes half of Rovuma LNG and India's BPCL puts in another $1.8 billion

Mozambique's offshore gas, among the largest finds in Africa, is inching toward the production it was promised a decade ago. Two of its three big projects moved last week.

ExxonMobil doubles down on Rovuma

In its third-quarter results on 30 October, ExxonMobil said it had reached agreement to increase its working interest in Rovuma LNG to 50 per cent. The company already operates the project. The release did not name the other party, give the previous stake or say what it paid, World Oil reported.

Mozambican outlet 360 Mozambique, citing Bloomberg, reported that the stake rises from 37.5 per cent through an asset swap with Eni, which would receive interests in other nearby assets. The financial terms were not disclosed.

Rovuma LNG is planned as 12 liquefaction modules with combined capacity of 18.6 million tonnes a year, with first production in 2031. The partners are aiming for a final investment decision by the end of 2026. President Daniel Chapo had said in July that the decision would come by September; that date passed. Contracts have been moving regardless: pre-investment work worth about $1.1 billion in August, a consortium of Saipem, McDermott, Daewoo E&C and CPECC for onshore engineering the same month, and Saipem with Jan De Nul for the offshore subsea work in September.

BPCL stays in Mozambique LNG

The other onshore project, TotalEnergies' Mozambique LNG, has been restarting after the 2021 insurgent attacks forced it to stop. Bharat Petroleum, which holds 10 per cent, will put in a further $1.8 billion over about two years, its finance director V R K Gupta told The Economic Times, as reported by Club of Mozambique. BPCL's total investment would reach $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion, of which about $2.8 billion is spent.

"We are expecting gas production by mid-2028," Gupta said. The first phase is two trains of 13 million tonnes a year combined. BPCL has a sale and purchase agreement for 1 million tonnes a year to India and expects to place the rest of its share within two to three quarters. Club of Mozambique put the project at 47 per cent complete as of September 2026.

The money so far

For all the headlines, the gas has not yet paid much. Finance Minister Carla Loveira told a business forum in Maputo that natural gas had earned the state about €310 million since 2022, with €75.5 million so far this year, 360 Mozambique reported. "We recognise that resources are still far short of what is needed," she said. The only project producing today is Eni's Coral Sul floating plant.

What it means for you

Mozambique is Nigeria's closest rival for the title of Africa's LNG leader. Nigeria LNG has shipped gas since 1999 from six trains, with a seventh under construction. If Rovuma takes its investment decision this year and Mozambique LNG delivers in 2028, Mozambique's three projects together would be in the same league as NLNG within a decade.

That competition shows up in two places. Buyers in Asia and Europe will have more sellers to choose from, which weighs on the price NLNG can get. And the money that would build those plants is the same pool Nigeria is chasing for its own gas projects. Mozambique's experience, insurgency, delays and small early revenues, is also a reminder of how long the wait is between a discovery and a dividend.