No reason was given for the dismissal of Couto, who had held the energy portfolio since January 2015.
The southern African state discovered offshore gas reserves six years ago amounting to about 85 trillion cubic feet, one of the largest finds in a decade and enough to supply Germany, the UK, France and Italy for nearly two decades.
The gas offers Mozambique an opportunity to transform itself from one of the world's poorest countries into a middle-income state and a major global liquefied natural gas exporter.
Negotiations
