New gas fields discovered in southern Mozambique

MAPUTO, Nov. 25 (Chinese media) -- Two new fields of natural gas have been discovered off the coast of the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane, official AIM reported on Tuesday.

Few details of the discoveries, made in blocks 16 and 19, are yet available, and so far there is no estimate of how much gas the new fields may contain, the state news agency said.

Mozambique's Minister of Mineral Resources Esperanca Bias said the concession to search for natural gas in the two blocks was granted to the consortium in June 2005.

A consortium headed by the South African petro-chemical giant SASOL has discovered the gas fields. So far the consortium has invested about 100 million U.S. dollars in the two blocks, half of which was spent on an exploratory well.

According to Bias, the gas was discovered at depths of 1,339 and 1,359 meters. She said that, if further research shows that the deposits are commercially viable, the gas will have a considerable impact on the Mozambican economy.

"We have a list of projects that may benefit from the gas, including for electricity generation, the establishment of a fertilizer factory, and use to power vehicles," she said.

Neighboring countries, she added, were also interested in buying natural gas in Mozambique. Currently the bulk of the gas produced at the onshore fields at Temane and Pande is exported to South Africa. Bias said that Swaziland is also a potential purchaser.

The known reserves at Temane and Pande amount to five trillion cubic feet of gas.

The other members of the consortium working in blocks 16 and 19are the Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas, and Mozambique's publicly owned National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH).