Eni expands in Mozambique with three new offshore licenses

Italian oil company Eni has acquired rights to explore and develop offshore blocks A5-B, Z5-C and Z5-D, located in the deep waters of Angoche and Zambezi Basins offshore Mozambique. 

Through a farm-in agreement, signed with ExxonMobil Moçambique Exploration & Production Limitada and authorized by Mozambican institutions, Eni’s subsidiary Eni Mozambico acquires a 10% stake in the three blocks, the company announced on Wednesday.

Block A5-B is located about 1,300 kilometers northeast of the capital Maputo, in a completely unexplored area off the city of Angoche. It has an area of 6,080 square kilometers, at a water depth of between 1,800 and 2,500 meters.

Blocks Z5-C and Z5-D cover a total area of 10,205 square kilometers, at a water depth between 500 and 2,100 meters, in a scarcely explored area facing the delta of the Zambezi River, about 800 kilometers to the north-east of the capital Maputo.

The three blocks, assigned under the 5th Licensing Round, are operated by ExxonMobil (40%), in partnership with the Mozambican State company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH, 20%), Rosneft (20%), and Qatar Petroleum (10%).

It is worth reminding that Qatar Petroleum signed a farm-in deal with ExxonMobil to acquire a 10 percent stake in blocks A5-B, Z5-C and Z5-D in December 2018. This marked QP’s entry into the country.

“With this acquisition, Eni further strengthens its presence in Mozambique, a country of strategic importance for the company,” Eni said.

In the 5th Licensing Round, Eni Mozambico was also awarded operatorship of Block A5-A, adjacent to block A5-B, with a 59.5% stake. Other partners are Sasol (25.5%) and ENH (15%).

A farm-out agreement enabling Qatar Petroleum to acquire a 25.5% participating interest in Block A5-A, reducing Eni shares to 34%, is pending authorization by the Mozambican authorities.

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