Mozambique: Gas investment boosts to a new record in 2026.

Mozambique forecasts record Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2026, of $5.88 billion (€5.12 billion), a 22.6% increase, driven by natural gas projects.

This growth will be "influenced by the implementation of structuring projects in the Rovuma basin," for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to the supporting documents for the proposed Social and Economic Plan and State Budget (PESOE) for 2026, which will begin to be discussed in parliament in the coming days.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mozambique more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2024, reaching almost US$1.63 billion (€1.42 billion), driven by projects in the mining and gas sector.

Foreign direct investment in Mozambique grew by 41.5% in 2024 and 2% in 2023.

The CEO of the oil company Eni, Claudio Descalzi, guaranteed on October 2nd that production of LNG at Coral Norte will begin within three years, making the country the third largest producer of natural gas in Africa.

Claudio Descalzi was speaking during the signing of the Final Investment Decision (FID) for $7.2 billion (€6.2 billion) for the second floating platform, Coral Norte.

“We have started the calendar for 2028. This means that we are starting now with the FID and, within three years, we will begin production. And this is a commitment, it's not just talk. It's not a dream, it's a commitment to the President, in front of everyone,” Descalzi stated.

The partners for Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of Cabo Delgado, Eni, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), CNPC, Kogas and XRG signed, in the presence of the Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, in Maputo, the FID for the new project.

The head of the Italian oil company, which operates the Coral Norte floating platform, as well as the identical Coral Sul, assures that it "will make Mozambique the third largest LNG producer in Africa," after Nigeria and Algeria, doubling the country's current production (Coral Sul alone) to seven million tons per year (mtpa).

Mozambique has three approved mega-development projects for the exploration of LNG reserves in the Rovuma Basin, ranked among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado. These include one by TotalEnergies (13 mtpa), valued at US$20 billion (€17.4 billion), which is in the process of being resumed after being suspended due to terrorist attacks in the region, and another by ExxonMobil (18 mtpa), worth US$30 billion (€26.1 billion), which is awaiting a final investment decision. Both projects are located on the Afungi Peninsula.

Mozambique has already collected $235 million (€200 million) in revenue from 137 shipments of LNG and gas condensate abroad since 2022, from the Coral Sul platform, the government announced in September.