Eni has agreed to farm out a stake of 25.5% in Block A5-A, a deep offshore Mozambican exploration block located in the Angoche basin, to Qatar Petroleum (QP), for an undisclosed price.
Image: Qatar Petroleum to acquire 25.5% stake in Block A5-A offshore Mozambique from Eni. Photo: courtesy of Qatar Petroleum.
Block A5-A was awarded to Eni in consortium with South Africa-based Sasol by the Mozambican government in October 2018 during the African country’s fifth competitive licensing round.
Eni is the operator of the block though its subsidiary Eni Mozambico, with a participating stake of 59.5%, which would be reduced to 34% upon completion of the deal with Qatar Petroleum. Sasol holds a stake of 25.5% while Mozambique through its state-owned company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) has a 15% stake in the exploration block.
Block A5-A is located in Northern Zambezi Basin, nearly 1,500km to the north east of the Mozambican capital Maputo. It is spread over an area of 5,133km2 and is contained in water depths in the range of 300-1,800m, in a completely unexplored zone.
Qatar Petroleum president and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement, with our valuable partner Eni, to participate in exploring this frontier offshore basin and strengthen our presence in Mozambique. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mozambican authorities and our partners in this block for their cooperation and support.
“By entering into this new agreement, we aim at expanding our exploration portfolio to ensure diversification of geographies as well as geologies and basins. Having a large and diversified exploration portfolio is a key long-term objective for Qatar Petroleum and essential for success.”
Qatar Petroleum and Eni are partners in Oman and Mexico as well. In December 2018, the Qatar state-owned company signed a deal to acquire a stake of 35% in the Amoca, Mizton, and Tecoalli offshore oil fields that make up the Area 1 project in Mexico from Eni.
In November 2017, the Qatar-based company signed an agreement to acquire 30% stake in Block 52 offshore Oman from Eni.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “Today’s transaction represent another milestone in the strategic path that Eni and QP undertook to further strengthen their partnership worldwide.”