Chinese state-owned Shandong Iron and Steel Group Co. Ltd says it has started mass production of hot-rolled steel H-beams for a liquefied natural gas project off the coast of Mozambique, Jiemian reports.

The Chinese website quotes Shandong Iron and Steel as saying yesterday that the first batch of beams was produced in a trial run and met all technical requirements.

The products are the first the company has made for the natural gas industry in Africa, and the LNG project they are made for is the biggest on the continent, Jiemian says.

Last May a Mozambican newspaper, Carta, reported that the Coral Floating Liquefied Natural Gas SA consortium, which includes state-owned China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Co. Ltd, expected to begin extracting natural gas from Rovuma Bay Area 4, off northern Mozambique, by next year.