Mozambique is prepared to meet the demand for natural gas from India, the Asian country’s authorities told Mozambique’s Minister for Mining Resources, Esperança Bias.

“If the Indian government or another entity wants to buy liquid natural gas from Mozambique we are ready to meet that demand,” Bias told Indian news agency IANS on the sidelines of an International Oil and Gas Conference held in New Delhi.

Speaking to IAS, and cited by Mozambican news agency AIM, Bias said she believed that the gas project would help drive the relationship between Mozambique and India, which is due to start receiving natural gas in 2019.

Officials from India’s Oil Ministry told the Mozambican delegation to the conference that India would need 15 to 20 million tons of liquid natural gas and the Oil Minister Veerappa Moily, would visit Mozambique to finalise a deal on the project.

Enormous natural gas reserves have been found in the Rovuma basin, in northern Mozambique, where international oil companies have been prospecting for oil and gas. So far the companies have discovered around 130 trillion cubic feet of gas in the area. (macauhub)