South Africa’s Sasol has invested more than US$4 billion in Mozambique in 20 years

Sasol has invested more than US$4 billion in Mozambique over the last two decades, said the chairperson of the petrochemical company, reiterating its commitment to continue contributing to national development.

“In Mozambique, we remain committed to the growth of our business and to making a significant contribution to the country’s development, as we have consistently done over the past 20 years,” said Muriel Dube, chairperson of the South African petrochemical firm Sasol, during the inauguration of the new Integrated Processing Plant (IPP) in Inhambane, southern Mozambique.

The plant, inaugurated by the Presidents of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, and South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, is the result of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Mozambique and the petrochemical firm, involving an investment of US$1 billion.

As a sign of Sasol’s commitment to Mozambique, Dube highlighted the company’s recognition as one of the top three taxpayers by Mozambican tax authorities over the past five years.

“Additionally, over the past two decades, we have invested more than US$4 billion in the country and we are proud of the positive impact created through our operations, social investments and skills development programmes,” she stated.

The construction of the PSA project is, for the Sasol chairperson, another milestone in the partnership with Mozambique, as during the construction of the plant — whose foundation stone was laid in 2022 — “several thousand jobs” were created, the majority for people from northern Inhambane.

“Our social investment programme continues to make a significant difference at local, provincial and national levels,” she said, explaining that in the 37 communities around the new enterprise, in the districts of Inhassoro and Govuro, approximately US$20 million has been invested under the local development agreement since 2020, with an additional US$35 million invested in other social investment projects.

“In May, we strengthened our commitment by supporting the second local development agreement. The next phase doubles our investment (…) to US$43 million and expands coverage to 70 communities around Govuro, Inhassoro and in the district of Vilankulo, during the period from June 2025 to June 2030, reinforcing our dedication to sustainable development in the region,” she said.

Dube also noted that during the construction of the new plant, Sasol invested “significantly” in the technical training of Mozambican professionals, “from plant operators and maintenance technicians to young engineers at the start of their careers,” emphasising that this is “essential for the country’s capacity to expand its oil and gas operations, but also for Mozambique to benefit from its own natural resources and human talent.”

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy , Estevão Pale said yesterday that the construction of the integrated hydrocarbon processing unit, with emphasis on the production of cooking gas, took place in a “particularly challenging” context, highlighting, among other factors, international energy price volatility, increasing energy security demands, growing LPG demand, and logistical challenges in the post-pandemic period.

The PSA project foresees the production of 53 million megajoules of natural gas per year, which will enable the implementation of the Temane Thermal Power Plant (CTT), and the production of four thousand barrels of light crude oil per day, according to Mozambican government data. The CTT will have capacity to produce 450 megawatts of electricity, and the processing unit 30,000 tonnes annually of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).