Following the completion of the pre-qualification process for Mozambique’s 6th Licensing Round, a total of 13 companies have submitted documents.
Interested bidders mostly include national oil companies, including CNOOC, Sinopec International, and PetroChina International (CNPC) of China, ONGC Videsh of India, Rosneft (RN Angoche) of Russia and QatarEnergy.
The IOCs that already have blocks in the country, including Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, are also participating.
The rest of the bidders include South Africa’s Sasol who already produces gas from the onshore Temane and Pande fields; Russia’s gas independent Novatek; Nigerian independent Aiteo E&P; and Discover Exploration, who operates Licenses 35, 36 and 37 in the Comoros just outboard of Mozambique’s offshore Rovuma Areas 1 and 4.
Under the 6th Licensing Round, companies are able to apply for Exploration and Production Concession Contracts (EPCC) after studying data licensed by the INP under standard Master Licensing Agreements (MLA).
Most work commitment programmes include a first sub-period with seismic acquisition and a minimum spending of $5m. Drilling commitments must be made only when entering the second sub-period.
To support bidders, the INP has made available 2D and 3D seismic datasets for Multi-Client licensing. These surveys cover both onshore and offshore areas and consist of 22,715 sq. km of 3D seismic, 41,905 km of offshore 2D seismic and 18,735 km of onshore 2D seismic.