Maputo, Mozambique – In a drive to promote local content in Mozambique, Sasol and its partners have entered into an agreement with Petróleos de Moçambique (PETROMOC), Mozambique’s state-owned distributor of petroleum products, to purchase condensate from the Central Processing Facility in Temane, Inhambane province. 

“Promoting local content is key to ensuring that the oil and gas industry promotes in-county economic development,” said John Sichinga, Senior Vice President, Sasol Exploration and Production International. “We have been focusing on identifying, and sustaining Mozambican suppliers that can support and help develop our activities and participate meaningfully in the value chain of the growing hydrocarbon industry.

Proposals received were evaluated independently in terms of a set of established criteria by the unincorporated joint venture partners in the Petroleum Production Agreement licence, namely Sasol (70%), Companhia Moçambicana de Hidrocarbonetos (25%) and the International Finance Corporation (5%). 

Sichinga added: “We intend to progress developing and growing Mozambican suppliers that can fulfil similar roles in our value chain.”

According to Fernando Uache, CEO of Petromoc, “Sasol is and will continue to be a natural partner for Petromoc. It was with Sasol that we set our first joint venture in the context of activities that constitute our core business. Today, to earn the trust of Sasol in a contract of this dimension, confirms the affinities of both companies and the role of complementarity that Petromoc can play for the upstream activities developed by Sasol in Mozambique”.

Sasol’s commitment to Mozambique began well over a decade ago, when, together with its partners, CMH and IFC developed the Pande/Temane natural gas project. This project pioneered the monetisation of the Pande and Temane gas fields which had been effectively ‘stranded’ for over 30 years. The natural gas project has resulted in significant benefits flowing to Mozambique, with the investment unlocking the country’s natural wealth and providing a platform for much-needed foreign investment, economic growth, skills and social development.