Mozambique will see a significant employment boom over the next four years, according to the CEO of the Petroplan specialist recruitment group. Andrew Speers believes that “many oil and gas projects” will be confirmed in the second half of 2016. He said the boom will be partly due to the Mozambique government’s October 2015 decision to award six licences for oil and gas exploration; these have the potential to bring in $700 million in investment from now to 2020.

He said: “This will inevitably lead to significant employment opportunities in the country, predominantly for ex-pats to begin with due to the skills gap in Mozambique. “For example, Anadarko Petroleum will need to employ 15,000 people — 60% ex-pats and 40% locals — just to complete the construction phase of its LNG project.”

With headquarters in Houston, Anadarko has so far discovered more than 75 trillion ft3 of recoverable natural-gas resources in Offshore Area 1 of Mozambique’s deep-water Rovuma Basin.

As a result of Mozambique’s “flourishing hydrocarbon sector, there will be job opportunities across the full spectrum,” Mr Speers added. “The infrastructure and groundwork need to be completed; then there will be upstream, midstream and downstream projects and opportunities. Mozambique is a shining light in a time of doom and gloom because of the potential there”.

Stephanie Moreland, Anadarko’s senior public-affairs representative, said: “Through its Mozambique LNG project, the company has the opportunity to gradually build a skilled workforce, employing Mozambican citizens with appropriate qualifications at all levels and implementing effective training programmes for them in each phase of the project. We recently provided equipment worth $100,000 to Pemba’s Lúrio University; this will benefit an estimated 400 students and teachers in the coming year.”