Italian oil company Eni has announced that it has acquired the right to explore and develop three offshore blocks offshore Mozambique
Through a farm-in agreement signed with ExxonMobil Moçambique Exploration & Production Limitada (ExxonMobil) and authorised by Mozambican institutions, Eni’s subsidiary Eni Mozambico has acquired a 10 per cent stake in blocks A5-B, Z5-C and Z5-D located in the Angoche and Zambezi basins.
Block A5-B is located about 1,300 km northeast of the capital Maputo, in a completely unexplored area outside the city of Angoche. It has an area of 6,080 sq km at a water depth between 1,800 and 2,500 m.
Blocks Z5-C and Z5-D cover a total area of 10,205 sq km, at a water depth between 500 and 2,100 m, in a scarcely explored area facing the Zambezi River Delta, about 800 km north-east of the capital Maputo.
The three blocks, allocated under the fifth licensing round, are operated by ExxonMobil (40 per cent), in partnership with the Mozambique State Company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH, 20 per cent), Rosneft (20 per cent) and Qatar Petroleum (10 per cent).
Eni Mozambico was also awarded Block A5-A operatorship, adjacent to block A5-B, with a 59.5 per cent stake in the fifth licensing round. Other partners are Sasol (25.5 per cent) and ENH (15 per cent). A farm-out agreement allowing Qatar Petroleum to acquire a participating interest of 25.5 per cent in Block A5-A, reducing Eni shares to 34 per cent, is pending authorisation from the Mozambican authorities.
Eni has been present in Mozambique since 2006, with the acquisition of a stake in the Area 4, located offshore in the Rovuma basin, in the northern part of the country. From 2011 to 2014, Eni discovered supergiant natural gas resources in the Rovuma basin, in Coral, Mamba and Agulha fields, holding estimated 2,400 billion cubic meters of gas in place.
Eni has been present in Mozambique since 2006, acquiring a stake in Area 4, located offshore in the Rovuma Basin, in the northern part of the country. From 2011 to 2014, Eni discovered supergiant natural gas resources in the Rovuma basin, in the fields of Coral, Mamba and Agulha, holding an estimated 2,400 bcm of gas in place.
