Sasol’s gas projects: time to clear the air
Civil society organisations say Sasol’s gas projects are ‘milking’ Mozambique. This will put pressure on the group to renegotiate its contracts with the government or at least increase transparency
The reports on Sasol’s Mozambique activities released by Oxfam and the Centro de Integridade Publica (CIP) last week were riddled with emotive language and misunderstandings, but they made an important point: Sasol needs to do more work in Mozambique on transparency and communications. The two reports, "Sasol will continue to milk Mozambique" and "Sasol’s development plan under the Production Sharing Agreement is problematic", raise other serious issues. They show a perception that the Mozambican government is not monitoring tax revenues, so Sasol is getting away with the greater share of profits from exploiting the Pande and Temane gas fields, as well as the new gas fields under development at Inhassoro. Communities also feel — as all communities next to mines do — that they are not getting enough jobs and local economic development. Sasol needs to disclose what it is paying the government, justify its costs, and explain where and why it is falling short of its social commitments. ...
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