Eni Discovers More Gas Offshore Mozambique; Opens Doors to 10% Stake Sale
Italy-based Eni has reported a new high impact discovery offshore Mozambique, with preliminary estimates showing that the Agulha structure could contain 5 to 7 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas in place. This new finding could increase the appetite of China’s CNPC to buy additional stakes in the licence, after it bought 20% stake from Eni six months ago.
‘Eni and its Area 4 Joint Venture partners are finalizing the assessment of the discovery and planning the appraisal strategy,’ reads the note released on Tuesday.
The Italian group is the operator of Area 4 with a 50% indirect interest owned through Eni East Africa, which holds 70% of Area 4. The other partners are Portugal's Galp Energia (10%), South Korea's KOGAS (10%), and Mozambique's ENH (10%). CNPC owns a 20% indirect participation in Area 4 through Eni East Africa.
The Mozambique complex is the largest in Eni’s exploration history. It is part of its strategy to diversify its portfolio in Africa.
‘The discovery opens a new exploration play in southern part of Area 4 where the drilling of three additional wells is foreseen in 2014,’ reads the note.
After the discovery, the total amount of gas in place in Area 4 is estimated to about 87 Tcf. It is one of the largest gas fields in the world, also known as Mamba South gas field. The giant offshore natural gas field is in the Cabo Delgado Province, off the coast of Mozambique.
“While it is not that exciting to find more gas in Mozambique, because so much has been discovered already, it really is exciting to find a new play, in which we can see the potential for wet gas. This might lead to more gas, more condensate and more oil,” commented Eni’s CEO Paolo Scaroni referring to the area rising as one of the global hydrocarbon industry’s most prolific exploration frontiers.
Speaking about to sell down its 50% stake in Area 4, Scaroni said his company is “ready to sell another 10%.” The new discovery makes the message even clearer. The next move is in CNPC’s hands.