RISK MANAGEMENT IN LNG PROJECTS IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MOZAMBIQUE AND TANZANIA

The paper does comparative analysis of risk management in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects between Mozambique and Tanzania. Both countries have significant reserves of natural gas, but they are troubled with different challenges. For Mozambique, it has to battle with security threats known as the Cabo Delgado insurgency for Tanzania, it faces regulatory inefficiencies and disputes on revenue share. Environmental risks such as methane emission and habitat disruption have tended to threaten the sustainability of the projects. The study assesses the effectiveness or inefficacy of those risk mitigation strategies across these two contexts through the following mixed methods: interview, survey, and document review used to address three questions adopted strategies, effectiveness, and lessons learned. Results proved that both countries had been practicing environmental monitoring, stakeholder involvement and financial hedging but still continued to face the challenges of governance, enforcement of regulations, and technical capacity. At the end, it advocates for integrated risk management frameworks, an enhanced collaborative effort on the stakeholder, and regulatory reforms for increased project resilience. The research, by contextualizing these challenges in developing countries rich in resources, derives actionable insights for policymakers and industry players towards economic development alongside risk mitigation.