The Mozambican government believes exploitation of natural gas will earn the country US$160 billion over two decades, Business Report reports.

The online edition of the South African newspaper quotes Mozambican Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Augusto de Sousa Fernando as saying: “We estimate that Mozambique will stand to gain US$160 billion over a 20-year period through investment in gas power infrastructure, and the economy is expected to accelerate rapidly.”

The deputy minister told a conference in South Africa: “The demand for natural gas has been increasing since 2004 in our country. This is one of the reasons we are developing a gas pipeline between Mozambique and South Africa.”

Mozambique also expects to become one of the biggest exporters of oil in the world, Business Report says.