Sonatrach's CEO Abdelhamid Zerguine was quoted by APS on 30
April as saying that Sonatrach is in talks to farm into Mozambique's offshore
gas projects operated by Eni and Anadarko.
Anadarko, which has been in Algeria since the 1980s, is the
largest foreign operator there, operating three oil and gas production sites,
with production approaching some 350,000 b/d. It has recently been responsible
for discovering one of the world's largest gas finds in Mozambique's Offshore
Area 1 of the Rovuma basin. The discovery is likely to transform the economic
prospects of Mozambique and Southern Africa.
Zerguine was speaking after signing a Memorandum of
Understanding with the head of Mozambique's Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonets
(ENH), Nelson Ocuane. He said Sonatrach was interested in
buying part of a minority stake held by ENH in the offshore gas fields. “We want
to have a place, but on the Mozambican side,” he said.
Zerguine did not give details of the size of stake Sonatrach
was seeking to acquire, but said a 5% holding would cost it around US$1 billion.
The memorandum also opened the way for Sonatrach to acquire exploration blocks
in Mozambique.
For more news and expert analysis about Algeria, please see Algeria Focus and Algeria Politics & Security.
© 2013 Menas Associates
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