Rovuma gas exploration: ExxonMobil buys stake in Area 4 – Omar Mithá

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Rovuma gas exploration: ExxonMobil buys stake in Area 4 – Omar Mithá

12:32 CAT | 21 Oct 2016

File photo / Omar Mithá chairman of Mozambique's National Hydrocarbon Company, ENH.

US multinational ExxonMobil will be a partner in the exploration of natural gas reserves in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) chairman Omar Mithá confirmed in Maputo yesterday.

Without going into detail, Mitha said that the deal had been officially confirmed to the Mozambican authorities.

Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin is currently operated by Italy’s ENI in partnership with Mozambique’s ENH, South Korean Kogas and Portuguese GALP.

Mitha said he considered ExxonMobil’s entry a big plus, mainly on account of the company’s global experience in the production and distribution of natural gas.

“We are talking about a major player in the global gas market, so this entry is a clear sign that our country is attractive. It is also expected that the context will change. At the moment, it is not favourable as there is an excess of supply and because, from a technological point of view, shale gas has been acquiring a certain dominance in the market,” Mitha said.

Mitha denied that ExxonMobil may want to manage its business portfolio, for example delaying projects in Mozambique and moving forward other projects elsewhere in the world.

“These are just rumours. As you know, the development of the areas is guided by a development plan that is bound by decisions taken at the highest level – in this case, the Council of Ministers,” Mitha explained.

He also said that the ExxonMobil acquisition would not delay or complicate the final investment decision (FID), because one of the conditions for approval of the deal by the Mozambican government is meeting deadlines.

“ExxonMobil is already working in Mozambique and we have had regular meetings as partners, first in the fifth tender, which involves fields in Angoche and blocks in Sofala and Zambezi and, second, concerning its entry into Area 4,” Mitha explained, adding that , in the case of Area 4, the US company will anyway have a minority stake.

Recently ENI and its partners signed a binding agreement on the sale of liquefied natural gas to BP Poseidon, a company fully controlled by BP Plc.

The Rovuma Basin is the most important gas reserve so far discovered in Mozambique, representing about 180 trillion cubic feet of gas. A portion of these reserves is in Area 1, operated by Anadarko. The exploitation of these resources according to plans currently laid out could place Mozambique among the three largest producers of natural gas in the world.

Source: Noticias