Mozambique has inaugurated its first cooking gas plant in a high-level ceremony attended by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo.
The commissioning took place on Thursday, 4 December 2025, according to local sources.
The new facility, located in Temane, Inhambane Province, is supplied by gas from the Inhassoro and Govuro reservoirs, where Sasol has operated for two decades and invested up to $4 billion.
The integrated gas plant began producing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in early November with an experimental loading, marking a significant step toward ending Mozambique’s long-standing reliance on imported cooking gas.
“This first loading of cooking gas represents the realisation of yet another step towards monetising natural gas within the country, creating greater value for the domestic market,” said Ovídio Rodolfo, Sasol’s managing director in Mozambique.
The Sasol-operated facility is expected to meet up to 75% of Mozambique’s domestic cooking gas demand.
In 2021, the South African company made a $760m FID in the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) project in the Temane region, focused on onshore natural gas and light oil development.
The PSA includes new gas processing facilities, drilling campaigns, and integration with power generation projects such as the planned 450 MW Temane Thermal Power Plant.
The project is expected to produce about 4,000 barrels of light crude oil per day and 53 million gigajoules of natural gas annually.
While a portion will serve Mozambique’s domestic market, the remainder will be exported to South Africa to sustain Sasol’s operations.
A sneak peek at Mozambique’s gas sector
The new LPG plant reflects Mozambique’s efforts to commercialize its natural gas resources more efficiently. Until now, most of the country’s gas output was exported with limited domestic use.
In 2022, Eni launched Mozambique’s first LNG project, Coral Sul, and recently added Coral Norte. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil have lifted force majeure on their combined $50bn onshore LNG projects in the Rovuma Basin after years of delays caused by insurgent activity.
Security challenges have not only slowed progress but also driven up costs. TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG budget has risen by at least $4bn.
Adding to the challenges, the UK and Netherlands recently withdrew $2.2bn in funding support, citing human rights concerns over military operations in northern Mozambique.
Their contribution represented about 10% of the project’s budget, but TotalEnergies has pledged to raise additional equity to cover the shortfall.