Petrochemicals giant Sasol, in partnership with Mozambique State-owned power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), has inaugurated Mozambique’s first permanent large-scale gas-to-power facility in Ressano Garcia.
Natural gas will be supplied to the new 175 MW Central Termica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG) power plant, in which Sasol owns 49% and EDM 51%, from the Sasol-operated central processing facility (CPF), in Temane, in Inhambane province.
The gas-fired power plant, which is expected to reach beneficial operation in October, will supply electricity to more than two-million Mozambicans, meeting 23% of the country’s current demand.
“Despite Mozambique’s extensive hydro-carbon resources, EDM is experiencing an electricity deficit which necessitates import-ing power. The CTRG [power plant] will help enhance the country’s energy self-sufficiency and will also help to diversify our energy base,” says EDM chairperson Augusto Fernando de Sousa.
Sasol notes that, in conjunction with its partners, it has spent about $3-billion in capital investments, including on the development and expansion of the CPF and natural gas fields in southern Mozambique, the construction of a cross-border pipeline, and the completion of the CTRG gas-to-power project.
“By working together with our Mozam-bican and South African partners, we are well placed to unlock the ultimate potential of Mozambique’s hydrocarbon resources in an integrated and sustainable manner, which will benefit not only the country but also the broader region,” Sasol president and CEO David Constable says.