Africa · Energy

Sasol, the South African energy and chemicals group, and ENH, Mozambique’s state oil and gas company, signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday 11 November 2026 to assess whether a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal linking Inhassoro and Beira is feasible. Sasol Moçambique, the group’s local arm, and ENH both described the plan, but Sasol Moçambique’s statement gave no cost, capacity or date.

The signing took place in Maputo on the sidelines of the Africa Gas & LNG Summit 2026, a gas industry conference held at the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre. Maria Benvinda Levi, Mozambique’s prime minister, attended the summit and visited its exhibition, where she learned about Sasol’s operations, according to Sasol Moçambique.

What We Know

ENH’s Director of New Business, Rijcard Manuel, said the aim is to bring gas from the Rovuma Basin, the offshore gas fields in the far north, to consumers in the centre and south of Mozambique. He said the north lacks the infrastructure to move that gas, and that ENH wants to use Sasol’s experience.

The plan, as described by ENH, uses a floating storage and regasification unit, a ship that turns LNG back into gas, anchored near Inhassoro. It would supply the Beira region by ship and connect to Inhassoro by a pipeline of about 135 kilometres, as ENH described it at the summit.

Sasol would provide technical help and specialist staff during development. The work should start with feasibility studies, followed by environmental and social studies and then engineering, according to ENH.

Sasol and ENH have been partners for more than two decades, since they signed gas agreements in 2000, according to Sasol Moçambique. Sasol has produced gas in Mozambique since 2004.

An LNG carrier, the Gulf Energy, at Avaldsnes, Norway, in June 2021. Photo: Christoffer Hjeltnes Støle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why It Matters

In November 2025 the Mozambican government gave ENH and three other state companies a 30-year concession to build and run gas facilities at the Port of Beira and at Inhassoro. The other three are the ports and railways company CFM, the power utility EDM and the Cahora Bassa hydropower company HCB.

The national petroleum regulator, the National Petroleum Institute (INP), said then that the project rests on a floating storage and regasification unit anchored at Beira and in Inhambane province. Sasol also holds 20% of ROMPCO, the Mozambique-South Africa pipeline company behind the 865-kilometre line that carries Mozambican gas to South Africa, while the Mozambican and South African sides hold 40% each.

A feasibility study is not an investment decision, and before the signing ENH had pointed to 2030 or 2031 for its planned gas infrastructure. Those northern projects include Rovuma LNG and Mozambique LNG.

What Is Not Known

No budget, capacity or financing plan has been published, and the individual signatories were not named. The Rio Times has not seen the memorandum itself, and the two accounts differ in emphasis: Sasol Moçambique speaks of a terminal feasibility study, ENH of a wider gas transport project.

What It Means for You

For readers following African gas, this is a study agreement, and no change in supply or prices was announced. The next signal to watch is a published scope of work or a named financing partner, as covered on our Mozambique page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Sasol and ENH sign?

They signed a memorandum of understanding on 11 November 2026 to assess the feasibility of an Inhassoro-Beira LNG terminal. Sasol Moçambique gave no cost or date.

What is ENH?

ENH is Mozambique’s state-owned National Hydrocarbon Company. Sasol Moçambique says the two have worked together since 2000.

Where are Inhassoro and Beira?

Inhassoro is a coastal district in Inhambane province in southern Mozambique. Beira is the main port city of Sofala province in the centre of the country.

Sources: Sasol Moçambique announcement, 11 November 2026; ENH statements at the Africa Gas & LNG Summit, Maputo, 11 November 2026; National Petroleum Institute (INP), Mozambique, statement on the Beira and Inhassoro concession, November 2025.