Maputo, Sept. 17, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique's National Petroleum Institute (INP) intends to audit the recoverable costs of the natural gas mega-projects in the Rovuma Basin, in order to strengthen the verification of expenditure declared by the concessionaires prior to the sharing of revenue with the State.
According to an announcement published on Thursday by the INP, which is seeking to recruit consultancy services for this purpose, the work will cover costs incurred and claimed as recoverable in Area 1 for the financial years 2025 and 2026, and in Area 4 for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The institution states that the country currently has around 180 trillion cubic feet (180 Tcf) of natural gas ‘in situ', concentrated mainly in Areas 1 and 4 of the Rovuma Basin – resources it considers strategic for driving economic growth, strengthening energy security and promoting sustainable development.
Under oil concession contracts, operators are entitled to recover investments and expenses incurred in hydrocarbon exploration, development and production activities. The value of these costs directly influences the revenue accruing to the State, making their validation one of the most sensitive elements of the oil exploration model.
The INP states that the aim of the consultancy is to carry out «an audit of the costs incurred and claimed as recoverable» in the two concession areas, covering all Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) linked to the approved projects and including «the physical verification of the project equipment and activities».
The audit will focus on the largest gas reserves discovered in Mozambique, with Area 1 being developed by Mozambique LNG, led by the French company TotalEnergies, whilst Area 4 includes the Coral Sul FLNG and Rovuma LNG projects. In this block, ExxonMobil is the delegated operator of the future onshore Rovuma LNG project, whilst Eni leads the operation of the Coral Sul LNG floating platform and the future Coral Norte project.
In its announcement, the INP notes that, since 2007, Mozambique has been carrying out hydrocarbon exploration, research, development and production activities in partnership with international companies, a process that has resulted in the discovery of reserves considered to be amongst the largest in the world.
The launch of this audit comes just a few weeks after the INP announced the strengthening of its powers as the oil sector regulator, under Law No. 8/2026 of 3 June, which formally conferred upon it the status of Petroleum Regulatory Authority, whilst retaining the institutional name of National Petroleum Institute.
Under the new legislation, the INP now has broader powers of inspection, supervision and sanctioning, including the responsibility to monitor compliance with concession contracts, approve budgets for oil projects, verify reports on recoverable costs submitted by concessionaires, and monitor the sector's production data.
The law also grants the institution powers to carry out audits and inspections of the recoverable costs declared by operators, a measure which the Government justified on the grounds of the need to strengthen the State's sovereignty over natural resources and increase its capacity to generate revenue from oil and gas exploration.
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