Sasol relinquishes licence offshore Mozambique

South Africa-based energy company Sasol has decided to relinquish its exploration licence offshore Mozambique.

Sasol said
on Monday that, following an evaluation of the exploration potential of the licence
and an assessment of the report of the pre-feasibility phase of the environmental
impact assessment (EIA), it would give up its exploration licence in Blocks 16
& 19 offshore Mozambique.

The company was
awarded Blocks 16 & 19 in June 2005. Sasol added that it conducted
deep-water exploration activities in the license areas since that time.

Sasol relinquished
the deep-water part of the license on 1 July 2013. The shallow water area of
the license was retained with a view of defining a future work programme to
assess the remaining hydrocarbon potential. 

The company
then undertook a robust and transparent pre-feasibility assessment through
Golder & Associates, an independent environmental specialist consulting
firm, before any exploration activity.

This process
involved consultation with all relevant stakeholders, from the government on
all levels, different industries, and academia.

Sasol will
relinquish Blocks 16 & 19 in their entirety to the Government of Mozambique
and it already issued a withdrawal notification to the relevant Mozambican
authorities.

As of its remaining Mozambique assets, the company is still exploring for gas on the Pande and Temane onshore fields. It is also a partner in several licences like in Eni’s offshore Block A5A in the Angoche basin.