Eni, Statoil land Angoche area A5-A block license offshore Mozambique

Eni, Statoil together with partners have announced they have been awarded the A5-A block offshore Mozambique in the fifth competitive bidding round one of three blocks that had remained unlicensed of 8 areas that had received bids .

The A5-A block is located in the Northern Zambesi basin in the Angoche area about 1,500km north of the capital Maputo and covers an area of 5,145 square kilometres in water depths ranging from 200 to 1800 meters.

The minimum work program includes seismic and three commitment wells.

According to senior vice president for Statoil’s exploration activities in the Western Hemisphere Nick Maden the Angoche area is a very promising frontier basin with significant oil potential and builds on Statoil’s exploration strategy of access at scale.

“The position strengthens and develops our global exploration portfolio. We are enthusiastic about this opportunity and look forward to working with Eni, Sasol and ENH to explore for hydrocarbons offshore Mozambique.” says Maden.

Eni through its subsidiary Eni Mozambico is the operator of the Joint Venture with 34% participating interest. Partners are Statoil and Sasol with 25,5% each and  ENH with 15%.

Other winners from the 5th Competitive Mozambique Bid Round announced last week include: ExxonMobil, Rosneft,  Sasol and Delonex Energy.

Eni has been present in Mozambique since 2006 and is the operator of Area 4 with a 50% indirect quote, owned through its subsidiary Eni East Africa.

In Area 4, following an intensive exploration campaign and appraisal, from 2011 to 2014, were also discovered supergiant natural gas resources, estimated in 2.407 billion of cubic  meters of gas in place.

The other partners in Area 4 are GalpEnergia, KOGAS and ENH with 10% stake each. CNPC owns a 20% indirect interest through Eni East Africa.