Mozambique, Indonesian firm sign $30 mln gas deal

Mozambique state oil and gas Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetes, ENH, signed a $30 million deal on Thursday with Indonesian mining company, PT Kalila Production, to look for gas in the central Sofala province.
ENH's Chief Executive Officer, Nelson Ocuane, told reporters the investment was for gas prospection in the Buzi bloc for the next eight years. He plans to open two wells for prospection and another two for evaluation in an area covering 600 kilometres (373 miles).
"We have signed the deal for the amount of $30 million and ENH has ceded 75 percent of its shareholding in the Buzi bloc to PT Kalila production, (and) the two companies would have joint operations in technical, research and production," Ocuane said.
PT Kalila will be represented locally by Buzi hydrocarbons, a company 100 percent owned by PT Kalila production.
PT Kalila has operations in Indonesia as well as the United States.
The government last year awarded ENH a licence to explore for gas in Buzi, which has estimated reserves of 10-17 billion cubic feet, as demand for gas by industrial consumers in Mozambique and neighboring countries rises.
Mozambique has enormous proven gas deposits, but has so far lacked the technical and financial capability to tap into these reserves and satisfy its growing energy needs. (Reporting by Charles Mangwiro, Editing by Henrique Almeida and Peter Blackburn, reuters)