Theme: Mozambique

Sub-Saharan Africa's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are set to grow nearly 175% to 98 billion cubic meters in 2034 from 35.7 billion in 2024, according to Fitch, as buyers flee the Strait of Hormuz. The African Energy Chamber projects about US$ 40 billion a year in exploration and production investment through 2030, lifting the continent's hydrocarbon output to 12.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. In Mozambique, TotalEnergies' US$ 20 billion LNG project, with capacity of 13.1 million tonnes per year, resumed construction in January after the end of a four-and-a-half-year force majeure and is about 45% complete.

Export Trading Group (ETG) has filed a $120 million international arbitration claim against the Mozambican government to recover the value of 40,000 tonnes of pigeon peas, maize and rice seized under a ruling by a Nacala judge later dismissed over corruption, in a case opened on October 16, 2024. In a meeting with President Daniel Chapo on October 22, the group proposed a $2 billion fertilizer factory using Mozambican gas. Companhia Industrial da Matola (CIM) challenged on October 12, at the Tribunal Administrativo, the monopoly of the Instituto de Cereais de Moçambique (ICM) over grain imports, accusing Economy Minister Basílio Muhate and the institute of raising, without authorization, the charges paid by importers from $5 to $16 per tonne.

Russia and Mozambique are working on launching a direct sea freight line, the Mozambican transport and logistics minister said. The draft memorandum on direct maritime transport between the countries is under discussion, with signing expected in 2027.

Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo invited Russian companies to invest in the country’s economic development and build sustainable partnerships, speaking at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa summit, according to the Russian state agency TASS. According to 360 Mozambique, Chapo listed mechanized agriculture, industry, infrastructure, transport, logistics, energy, tourism, digital transformation and the blue economy among the priority areas for cooperation.

Mozambique and China signed a supplementary framework agreement to restructure Mozambique's public debt with the Chinese government, according to AllAfrica. It follows a partial Chinese forgiveness of 204 million yuan (1.9 billion meticais) in interest-free loans that were due to mature in December 2024.