Mozambique: selling off the crown jewels

Desperate to claw its way out of the worst debt crisis in the country’s history, Mozambique’s government is rumoured to be considering selling stakes in its precious Rovuma Basin gas blocks.The problem is that it does not have that much to sell – and now would be a terrible time to do so.

Under Mozambican law, state petroleum company ENH must hold a minimum 10% stake in upstream contracts. It already holds only 10% in Area 4 and 15% in Area 1, giving it only a 5% stake to play with.