Mozambique is set to launch its fifth oil and gas bidding round in 2014, which will mostly consist of offshore blocks, a government official announced
The east African country is currently waiting for the Parliament to pass an amended petroleum law, Reuters reported.
Giant gas finds off the country’s coast has reportedly fuelled an exploration boom.
Jose Branquinho, resource assessment director at the National Petroleum Institute (INP), said, “It is likely we will have the bidding round sometime next year."
INP, Mozambique's regulatory authority for petroleum activities, is looking to auction blocks in the deep water Rovuma Basin, as well as offshore Zambezi Delta and Beira High regions.
The last licencing round was held in the year 2009.
Branquinho added, “We are primarily looking at offshore, but we are considering the possibility of having some few areas onshore to offer as well.”
Italy's Eni, whose discovery in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin is the group’s biggest resource with an estimated 2.2 trillion cubic metres of gas, and Anadarko Petroleum are among major operators active offshore in Mozambique.