Rosneft, ExxonMobil to sign gas agreement with Mozambique in 2018

Mozambique’s fifth licence round winners Rosneft and ExxonMobil will sign an Exploration Production Concession Contract with the Mozambique government for blocks A5-B in the Angoche Basin and Z5-C and Z5-D in the Zambezi Delta according to Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov.

According to Lavrov who had discussions with Foreign Minister of Mozambique Jose Pacheco and Rosneft’s management on developing the gas fields in the north of Mozambique the signing is the only barrier to the joint venture commencing the project with an earlier agreement having been set for signing in 2016.

“The plan is to sign an agreement this year and launch the project on field development in Mozambique with participation of Rosneft and ExxonMobil. We had an opportunity to speak with Rosneft’s management at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2018, our delegation also included experts in the field, we are actively working and discussing, and are hoping to get a positive result,” the Jose Pacheco is quoted by Russian News Agency Tass.

Once the agreement is in place the First Period of Exploration over the following 4 years will see these companies spend over 691 Million USD, drilling a minimum of 10 wells (8 in deep water), acquisition of over 3,000 km of 2D seismic, acquisition of over 18,400 km2 of 3D seismic (some potentially linked to new multi-client programs), 10,000 km2 of FTG (Full Tensor Gravity), high resolution magnetics programs and other geotechnical studies.

The participation in exploration and development projects in Mozambique is a new focus area of Rosneft’s international strategy as the Russian giant promotes its positioning in regions of significant hydrocarbon potential, where production is possible in the mid and long-term. Rosneft says these projects allow it to obtain access to high-quality assets, while abiding an effective investment policy.