The remote and sparsely populated province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique appears to be at the beginning of an unprecedented resource boom. The perfect storm of major offshore gas discoveries and the world’s largest known graphite deposit. Against this background is a region with adult literacy just above 50% and an almost non-existent industrial sector.
So how can Mozambique exploit its resource wealth and improve the lives of people in the region?
The answer is simple but the solution far more complex – develop local skills and local capability.
The experience of Aberdeen in Scotland, known as the ‘Oil Capital of Europe’ provides a great case study. Since the discovery of oil in the North Sea it is estimated that nearly half a million jobs have been created in the energy industry.
So what did the once sleepy fishing town of Aberdeen do to become not only the centre of Europe’s oil production, but also a global centre of excellence for the energy industry?
It started with an acknowledgment that the skills required to develop the industry and the major projects did not exist.
In 1969, the first major discovery/development by Philips Petroleum lead to a significant influx of American expatriates. This was facilitated by establishing an international friendly environment to attract oil and gas professionals from around the world. In what may have seemed unusual at the time, American, Japanese, and other International schools were built to support the families of these professionals, ahead of building local training institutions.
Aberdeen suddenly transformed into a bustling international city with a Texan accent on the street as common as the distinct Aberdonian.
Learning from best international practice and knowledge through ‘skills transfer’ was seen as the first step to developing local skills and capability. Without the international expatriates there was quite simply no local expertise to pass on the knowledge and skills.
What has followed over the almost 50 years of oil production in the North Sea has been an unprecedent investment in skills, the establishment of world leading training institutions, universities, and organisations like OPITO (Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation) that have become a global standard.
Significantly, it has been a gradual process, an accumulation of global expertise and a long term vision to develop local content and capability. The experience of Aberdeen is one that the new frontiers of resource development should examine closely.
Mozambique which is the new frontier needs to embrace the best the world can offer to capitalise on its abundant resource wealth. In 5o years’ time will Mozambique be the new Aberdeen?
Globe 24-7
This article was featured in Globe 24-7’s Quarterly Newsletter – Issue 2 January 2019
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