South African petrochemicals group Sasol may be interested in buying into the gas blocks offered for sale in Mozambique’s lucrative Rovuma basin if the deals are “appropriate”, its chief executive said. 

Recent discoveries have put Mozambique in line to eventually compete as a major provider of liquefied natural gas to Asia. 

Anadarko Petroleum and an Indian billionaire plan to auction a 20 per cent stake in their Mozambican field, while China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is in talks to buy a stake in the block operated by Italy’s Eni.

“We are interested in looking at what we might do with some of the owners of the Rovuma basin blocks, what their needs are and how we might be able to help them monetise the gas with our technologies,” Sasol CEO David Constable told Reuters.

“We would certainly be interested in taking a look at it, both upstream and downstream.”

Sasol is the world’s top maker of motor fuels from coal, but increasingly has been investing in plants that convert gas to fuel and chemicals. The company would like to use that expertise when partnering with future gas producers in Mozambique. 

Constable said he also met with Mozambique’s president to discuss possibilities for Sasol, which has been operating in the country since 2004, to develop domestic gas-based industries.