Mozambique set to build gas pipeline

Mozambique is planning to construct a gas pipeline which will cost about $ 85 mm.
The gas pipeline is expected to be build by the southern African country's oil and Gas Company known as Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonatos.

This is good news for the country which is battling to rebuild itself since losing most of its important infrastructure due to a civil war. It is said once the pipeline is built it is expected to boost local supplies.
Reports say that the southern African country has major proven gas reserves, but does not have the technical and financial capacity to exploit them. Gas is said to have been discovered in Mozambique in 1962, when Gulf Oil drilled a successful well in the Pande field in the southern province of Inhambane.

The company's chief executive Nelson Ocuane as saying that the pipeline would link the industrial city of Matola and the capital city Maputo. He further added that an international tender to select a company to supply engineering advice and procurementhad been launched.
"The construction of the pipeline will cost $ 20 mm and the distribution operation will cost some $ 65 mm," Ocuane said.

The report further said Sasol, South Africa's petrochemical group, has invested $ 1.2 bn to develop an extensive pipeline network from Mozambique's Pande and Temane gas fields to South Africa. The southern African country has of late relied more on agriculture for its economic boost and is now investing a lot in mining.
The country a few months ago, also announced that it would invest millions in tourism in order to attract more tourists ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Mozambique with its current president Armando Guebuza goes to polls this month.