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MOZAMBIQUE: 4 FOREIGN COMPANIES WIN TENDER TO EXPLORE OIL AND GAS March 10, 2006
Apunyu Bonny
(SomaliNet) Foriengn oil and gas companies, from Canada, the United States, Malaysia, and Italy, have won tenders to prospect for hydrocarbons in the Rovuma basin in northern Mozambique, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias, announced Wednesday.
The Norwegian company Norsk Hydro, under a contract signed in February has already been granted two of these areas (blocks 2 and 5) Mean while, Wednesday announcement covered the other five areas (which are mostly offshore), and the winning bids came the Canadian company Artumas, Anadarko of the US, ENI of Italy, and Petronas of Malaysia.
Mean while, Bids from three other companies, Norsk Hydro, Rockover of South Africa and Petrobras of Brazil, for these five blocks, were rejected.
A total of 300 million dollars is expected to be invested by all the companies and they are expected to sink eight exploratory wells in the five blocks. A further 1.3 million will be spent on social projects, and 1.5 million on training Mozambican staff.
Mozambique’s Rovuma basin covers an area of 60,000 square kilometres in the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado. Given its size it has been divided into seven areas for purposes of oil and gas exploration.
Sporadic work has taken pace in the basin over the past 20 years. Thus in 1986, the multinational oil company Esso, dug an onshore well which found no oil, but showed signs of natural gas deposits.