17 March 2013 – Italy’s Eni has agreed to sell a 20% stake in Area 4 off Mozambique to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for $4.21 billion.
CNPC acquired the stake by buying 28.57% of the shares of Eni East Africa, which owns 70% of Area 4.
The other partners at the block are Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mocambique (ENH), Korea’s Kogas and Portugal’s Galp Energia, all on 10%.
Reports had emerged earlier this month that the two companies had been in talks for six months on the stake deal.
The two explorers also signed a co-operation agreement to jointly study developing China’s Rongchang shale gas block.
The 2000-square kilometre Sichuan Basin block is situated nearby blocks where production tests have yielded China’s most promising results to date, according to the exploration pair.
The acreage also lies close to main gas consumption markets, the Milan- and Beijing-headquartered companies said.
The agreement is to allow the area to be studied while negotiations take place for the signing of a future production sharing agreement at the block.
*Bill Lehane, Upstreamonline
