The Mozambican government has agreed to form a joint venture with Oslo-listed Artumas Group Inc (AGI.OL: Quote) to explore for oil and gas, a cabinet spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.
Artumas, which has its head office in Canada, will hold 85 percent of the venture with state oil firm ENH owning the other 15 percent, spokesman Luis Covane said.
The cabinet agreed to award the Mozambique subsidiary of Artumas a tender to undertake a feasibility study for part of the massive Rovuma basin in the north of the country.
The license runs for eight years, which would be extended to 25 years if oil is found, Covane added.
The Rovuma basin is mostly offshore and covers an area of 60,000 sq km in the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado. It has been divided into seven areas by the government for oil and gas exploration.
Other firms that are exploring for gas and oil in the basin are U.S. company Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N: Quote), Petronas (PETR.UL: Quote) of Malaysia, Norway's Norsk Hydro and Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: Quote).
Sporadic exploration work has taken place in the basin over the past 20 years. In 1986, Esso dug an onshore well which found no oil, but showed signs of natural gas deposits.
Oil majors in the past have concentrated on west and southwestern Africa, but are now seeking opportunities in new areas in eastern and southern Africa, partly spurred by high global oil prices.
source news : ca.today.reuters.com
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