Gas investment to top US$35b by 2035 – Official

A senior official at South Africa-run financial services group Standard Bank, Paul Taylor says that foreign investment in Mozambique’s in gas and oil sector could reach US$35 billion between 2017 and 2022 due to the country’s untapped natural resource potential.Taylor, who is oil director for sub-Saharan Africa at Standard Bank, is quoted as having made the announcement late on Sunday on the sidelines of the 5th edition of a mining, energy, oil and natural gas exhibition in Mozambique.Taylor said offshore discoveries in areas 1 and 4 of the Rovuma basin have potential to put Mozambique on the top 10 countries with the highest natural gas reserves in the world.He however warned that it was important to understand how the liquefied natural gas projects are structured from conception until full development.Oil and gas exploration in Mozambique is more intensive along the Rovuma Basin and between the northern and central regions of Mozambique.Multinationals including Italy’s ENI and US firm Anadarko Petroleum Corp. have together invested US$300 million in oil and gas exploration on the Rovuma Delta in northern Mozambique.