PetroSA secures gas deal with Mozambique

PetroSA expects the first flows of gas into the country from a deal with Mozambique's national energy company, ENH, later this year, officials said, amid efforts to shore up supplies ahead of a potentially crippling shortage. Handed a gas trading licence by regulators in March, the state-owned oil and gas company has moved quickly to secure a deal for an initial two petajoules of gas a year, with scope to rise to 200 petajoules eventually. TimesLIVE reports that this would be enough to supply scores of industrial gas users, including steelmaker ArcelorMittal, which currently relies on around 190 PJ/a, mainly supplied by SA petrochemical firm Sasol. Sasol has warned customers that it will significantly restrict supplies in a couple of years as its Mozambican gas fields run dry. PetroSA wants to form a joint venture (JV) with ENH to woo potential gas clients in energy-starved SA, and intends replicating the JV model at Mossel Bay to trade gas from offshore fields discovered by TotalEnergies to the Cape market.