Italian oil and gas company Eni announced that its subsidiary Eni Mozambico, has acquired rights to explore and develop offshore blocks A5-B, Z5-C and Z5-D, located in the deep waters of Angoche and Zambezi Basins.
Eni has signed a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil Moçambique Exploration & Production Limitada and authorized by Mozambican institutions to acquire a 10% stake in the three blocks.
Block A5-B covers an area of 6,080km2, at water depth between 1,800m and 2,500m and is located approximately 1,300kms northeast of the capital Maputo, in a completely unexplored area off the city of Angoche.
Blocks Z5-C and Z5-D covers a total area of 10,205km2, at a water depth between 500m and 2,100m and is located in a scarcely explored area facing the delta of the Zambezi River, approximately 800km to the north-east of the capital Maputo.
The company said that the three blocks are assigned under the 5th licensing round, and are operated by ExxonMobil (40%), in partnership with the Mozambican State company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH, 20%), Rosneft (20%) and Qatar Petroleum (10%).
The acquisition to strengthen Eni’s presence in Mozambique
Eni said that the acquisition is expected to further strengthen its presence in Mozambique, a country of strategic importance for the company.
Eni Mozambico has secured operatorship with a 59.5% stake in Block A5-A, adjacent to block A5-B, in the 5th licensing round, along with other partners including Sasol (25.5%) and ENH (15%).
A farm-out agreement is due for authorization by the Mozambican authorities, which enables Qatar Petroleum to acquire a 25.5% participating interest in Block A5-A, and reduces Eni’s stake to 34%.
Eni claimed that it 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. It has 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.
