Mozambique’s new Petroleum Law and new Petroleum Tax Law have been long awaited by foreign investors who have been looking for a clear and comprehensive legal framework to facilitate investment in the development of the country’s huge offshore gas reserves. Do these new laws provide that framework?

There has been a dramatic change in the prospects of Mozambique since the end of the country’s 15 year civil war in 1992. Then the country’s GDP per capita was the second lowest in the world at US$137.1 However, with the discovery of a staggering amount of untapped coal and natural gas reserves over the past decade, the country has been propelled to the front of the global energy stage.