(Ecofin Agency) - In a bid to promote local content in Mozambique, South African petrochemical group Sasol and its partners have secured a $45-million agreement with Mozambique's State-owned petroleum products distributor Petroleos de Mocambique (Petromoc) to purchase condensate from the central processing facility in Temane, in the Inhambane province.

“Promoting local content is key to ensuring that the oil and gas industry promotes in-county economic development. We have been focusing on identifying and sustaining Mozambican suppliers that can support and help develop our activities and participate meaningfully in the value chain of the growing hydrocarbon industry,” Sasol Exploration and Production International senior VP John Sichinga told Engineeringnews.

 In a statement the group stated that proposals received were evaluated independently in terms of a set of established criteria by the unincorporated joint venture partners in the Petroleum Production Agreement licence, namely Sasol, which held 70%, Companhia Mocambicana de Hidrocarbonetos (CMH), which held 25%, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which held a 5% stake.

 “It was with Sasol that we set our first joint venture in the context of activities that constitute our core business. Today, to earn the trust of Sasol in a contract of this dimension, confirms the affinities of both companies and the role of complementarity that Petromoc can play for the upstream activities developed by Sasol in Mozambique,” Sichinga. Petromoc CEO Fernando Uache said.