Mozambique expected to contain oil or gas

The geological characteristics of the central region of Mozambique suggest that the rock formations contain oil or gas, Carlos Zacarias, the director of the project of the National Oil Institute (INP) said Thursday in Maputo.

Zacarias was speaking at a press conference to mark the third international tender for concession of oil prospecting and survey areas in the central region of the Mozambique Basin, namely the southern part of the province of Zambezia and the north of Inhambane. The tender, launched simultaneously in Maputo and London in order to reach most of the oil companies headquartered in Europe and the rest of the world, covers 61,000 square kilometers, sub-divided into nine areas, two of which are on land and the rest in the sea. Zacarias said that the period for presenting proposals was six months, until June 1008, and the government would take between two and three months to decide to whom to grant the concessions.

Surveying and prospecting for oil and gas in Mozambique has received over US$1.7 billion in investment over the last five to six years, with US$1.5 billion going to the Pande/Temane gas project, in Inhambane province and the remainder for prospecting oil. There are at least ten active contracts with the same number of companies and amongst the areas already granted for surveying and prospecting oil and gas, are the Sofala, Inhaminga, Pande/Temana and Rovuma basin blocs. The main exploration area in Mozambique is the Rovuma basin, on the border with Tanzania, with the concession of blocs to four companies – Anadarko Petroleum, of the United States, Canada’s Artumas, Norway’s Norsk Hydro and Italy’s ENI. Offered by PROSADC.COM