By: OrePulse

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo used an appearance at the Rio Oil & Gas 2026 Forum on Monday to urge Brazilian companies to invest in his country's natural gas sector, framing the pitch around a newly approved petroleum law and plans for a fresh licensing round.

Brazil's Institute of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels organized the forum. Addressing an audience of Brazilian executives and officials, Chapo argued that Mozambique's gas resources should underpin broader industrial development at home rather than serve mainly as an export commodity. "This new phase aims to link energy resources to industrialization, agriculture, fertilizer production, and job creation," he said.

Mozambique's natural gas reserves are estimated at roughly 180 trillion cubic feet, with about 133 trillion cubic feet considered recoverable. Four large liquefied natural gas developments in the offshore Rovuma Basin — Coral Sul, Coral Norte, Mozambique LNG and Rovuma LNG — together represent close to $50 billion in planned or committed investment. However, the projects have faced repeated delays over the years.

Beyond gas, Chapo noted that Mozambique also holds hydroelectric, solar and wind resources, though gas remained the central theme of his pitch to the forum. He argued that directing gas revenue toward industrialization, agriculture and job creation, rather than exporting the resource largely unprocessed, would let Mozambique retain more of that value domestically while still balancing environmental and economic considerations.

Chapo pointed to Brazil's experience in deepwater exploration, engineering and logistics as a reason Brazilian firms could play a bigger role in developing that resource base. He also confirmed that the government is preparing a new licensing round for hydrocarbon exploration acreage, which officials say will be backed by upgraded geological data and modernized regulations.

Underpinning the pitch is a new Petroleum Law that Mozambique's government approved in June, intended to strengthen legal predictability, fiscal stability and regulatory transparency for investors in the sector. Chapo also pushed back on framings of the global energy transition that would leave gas-producing developing countries without a path to using their own resources. "The energy transition cannot mean a transition without energy," he said.

The invitation to Brazilian investors comes as Mozambique's government looks to diversify the base of companies involved in its gas sector beyond the international majors currently anchoring the Rovuma Basin projects. A revived licensing round, paired with the new legal framework, is intended to signal that additional acreage — and additional partners — are available even as the existing LNG developments continue working through years of delay.

For Brazilian companies, the pitch amounts to an invitation to apply their deepwater exploration and engineering expertise to a new market in East Africa, at a moment when Mozambique's government is actively courting fresh capital and additional operators for its energy sector.