According to INPEX, “this block is expected to hold crude oil reserves”.
The details of the transaction are being kept confidential and are subject to approval by the Mozambican government.
If the sale is given the go-ahead it will leave Statoil as the operator with a 40 per cent stake. INPEX will have a 25 per cent share as will Tullow Oil. The Mozambican state oil company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos holds the remaining ten per cent share.
Huge natural gas fields have been found nearby. In Offshore Area 4 the Italian company ENI has discovered at least 75 trillion cubic feet of gas, whilst in Area 1 the US company Anadarko has found up to 65 trillion cubic feet.
It has been estimated that these finds could make Mozambique the world’s third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas after Qatar and Australia.
In March ENI agreed to sell a twenty per cent stake in Area 1 to the China National Petroleum Corporation for 4.2 billion US dollars – subject to the government of Mozambique’s approval.
Post published in: Africa News