Mozambique: Indonesian company seeks buyers for natural gas from the Búzi Basin – O País

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Mozambique: Indonesian company seeks buyers for natural gas from the Búzi Basin – O País

11:56 CAT | 25 Oct 2022

File photo: O País

The search for buyers takes place after confirmation of the existence of marketable gas in Buzi, Sofala province. In Jakarta, Indonesia, PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk (EMP), the consortium’s largest shareholder, expressed expectations regarding the gains that could result from the project.

Búzi Hydrocarbons is already looking for buyers for natural gas from Búzi, confirmed through research carried out by the Indonesian company Energi Mega Persada. Despite the lack of identification of the existing natural gas potential in the Búzi Basin, in Sofala, Búzi Hydrocarbons already holds that the resource is marketable.

On the sidelines of a visit made by a delegation of Mozambican businessmen to the headquarters, in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, of the holding company of which the petrochemical company is a part, the CEO of Búzi Hydrocarbons, Taufan Rotorasiko, said: “We found gas in two boreholes and, now, we are working with a third party, where we expect to confirm good amounts of the resource.”

However, as announced this year by the Council of Ministers, definitive results on the natural gas potential in that region will only be known in 2024.

Gas exploration drilling in the region began in 2019, in a partnership between Búzi Hydrocarbons, with 75%, and the Mozambican state, represented by Companhia Moçambicana de Hidrocarbonetos (CNH) with 25%.

Quantities of the resource remain to be determined.

READ: EMP – Buzi block ready to enter the development phase in two years

“We expect to invest around US$15 million at first, but we also plan to invest around US$120 million to build the platform. So it is a great investment for the country, and we hope that it will create great opportunities for us and for Mozambique,” Taufan Rotorasiko added.

The Indonesian business group is strategic for Mozambique, given its potential to influence other companies to invest in the national market.

“The project is at an advanced stage,” said Mozambican Ambassador to Indonesia, Belmiro Malate. “They are currently looking for potential customers, as they have already managed to find the gas.

On the other hand, “they can help us attract more Indonesian companies to invest in Mozambique”, the diplomat said, calling attention to one of the objectives of the business mission visiting the 16th most developed economy in the world.

Bakrie Holding, one of the business “giants” in Indonesia, was one of the influencers of the creation of a chamber of commerce between Mozambique and Indonesia, which is why the president of the organisation promised to give priority to the issue of local content.

READ: Mozambique: Embassy of Indonesia and Buzi Hydrocarbons donate school desks in Sofala – Watch

“This group wants to give special privileges to the members of the Chamber and also to the national business community, in general, in order to provide services to the Buzi project. This is also a response to the challenge of local content, much debated in Mozambique,” he said.

The rights to prospect and exploit the Búzi gas were awarded within the framework of the 5th Oil and Gas licensing round.

By António Tiua

Source: O País