The International Monetary Fund predicts that Mozambique’s average growth rate during the first half of the next decade could reach the staggering figure of 24% per annum, NewsNow reported. This optimism is based on the assumption that gas processing facilities in the Rovuma Basin, in the far north of the country, will begin production in 2021. In a report released on Thursday, the authors calculate that by middle of the decade half of the country’s output will be generated by natural gas. Off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado, huge gas reserves have been found in Rovuma Basin Area 1 and Area 4 totaling an estimated 180 trillion cubic feet of gas. The two operators, US company Anadarko (Area 1) and Italy’s ENI (Area 4) are currently developing plans to build liquefied natural gas plants to market the gas. The report expects the total investment in these two areas to exceed a $100 billion. Once production reaches its peak, Mozambique could become the world’s third largest LNG exporter after Qatar and Australia.
