Report: Qatar Petroleum eyes stake in Eni’s Mozambique LNG project

Qatar Petroleum is reportedly interested in the Mozambique gas business of Italy’s Eni and could opt to join ExxonMobil in buying a multibillion-dollar stake.

Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Qatar Petroleum is in talks with ExxonMobil and Eni on some kind of involvement in Mozambique which could involve a joint investment with the U.S. major, adding the deal was not a classic joint venture structure.

According to the report, Qatar Petroleum had been looking at Eni’s Area 4 field as well as adjoining acreage of Anadarko Petroleum but the focus was on Eni.

Italian oil and gas company reportedly sold a multi-billion dollar stake in the planned Mozambique LNG development to ExxonMobil, but the deal will not be announced for several months due to ExxonMobil’s request.

The gas reserves already discovered by Eni in Area 4 in the offshore Rovuma basin are large enough to feed a giant land-based LNG export plant. Eni, that is the operator of the Area 4 with a 50 percent stake, has discovered about 85 trillion cubic feet of gas in the offshore block.

To remind, the Mozambique government in February approved the plan of development for Eni’s Coral FLNG project. The approval relates to the first phase of development of 5 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Coral discovery, located in the Area 4 permit.

The plan of development, the very first one to be approved in the Rovuma Basin, foresees the drilling and completion of 6 subsea wells and the construction and installation of a floating LNG facility, with the capacity of around 3.4 MTPA.

LNG World News Staff