2023-04-26 18:58:27
The President of the Republic says that the production of natural gas just for export diverts the attention of sub-Saharan African countries to solving their energy problems, such as poor access and dependence on hydropower. As for the TotalEnergies project, Nyusi says there are good signs for recovery.
Access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa is still very poor. Data presented today by the President of the Republic at the Conference on Mining and Energy indicate that almost half of the region’s population does not have electricity and those who do still consume very small amounts. Faced with this situation, African countries, including Mozambique, produce natural gas for export.
“This extroverted vision that is only oriented to the export market diverts our attention from two situations that the energy sector is struggling with on our continent and in the SADC region. The first has to do with the fact that close to 45% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, more or less 590 million people, do not have access to energy in their homes. Per capita consumption, excluding South Africa, is estimated at 185 kilowatts per hour/year, compared to 6500 kilowatt hours in Europe and 12 thousand kilowatt hours in America around 80%”, informed Filipe Nyusi, President of the Republic.
To reduce dependence on energy production through water, a source with several associated climate risks, Filipe Nyusi says that natural gas can play a very important role. However, there is an Achilles heel: financing.
“In the last 10 years (until 2021), around 2/3 of new energy generation came from gas-fired thermal power stations, which offered greater flexibility and stability in the face of uncertainties resulting from climate change, which is beneficial for the African continent. However, this trend faces a financing dilemma, not for lack of viability, but because some countries and financial institutions are not predisposed to finance projects that use fossil fuels, even if gas presents certain characteristics, namely: first, as the least polluting among fossil fuels; second, safeguard the intermittent nature of renewable energies; and, third, it presents itself as a long-term solution, due to the possibilities it offers for its conversion into hydrogen. In this context, renewable energy on the continent, despite its progress, continues to account for an insignificant weight and is generally used as a solution for off-grid supply”, said Filipe Nyusi.
With regard to the billionaire natural gas project suspended due to terrorism in the north of the country, led by TotalEnergies, Filipe Nyusi says there are good signs for the recovery.
“It is our expectation that the Mozambique LNG onshore project, whose operator is TotalEnergies, will be implemented again soon, as it is urgent to take advantage of the market’s window of opportunity with rising prices and we have been working like this. The cooperation and coordination with TotalEnergies is very favourable, the work environment also contributes to the possibility of resuming this activity at any time”, guaranteed Filipe Nyusi.
At the event, the Head of State also highlighted the beginning, this year, of the supply of graphite from Balama, a district in the province of Cabo Delgado. However, he regrets the fact that mineral processing is still not done in Mozambique.
“This is where there is a problem. I would like the conference to work towards getting investors to start thinking about transforming everything here. That makes it easy. Transport costs will be much lower and not only will they contribute to employing more Mozambicans and there are conditions now in Mozambique. One of the things they have been talking about is energy”, said the President of the Republic.
Ministers of Mineral Resources and Energy from Mozambique and other countries, representatives of natural gas exporting countries and oil producers, among others, participated in the event.
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