Mozambique’s sixth bid round is under way and potential bidders have until the end of February to pre-qualify.
Mozambique held a virtual bid round last week [February 2] organised by Frontier Energy, with a number of high-ranking Instituto Nacional de Petroleo (INP) officials taking the time to spell out expectations for the offering.
The East African state sees gas as playing a critical role in the energy transition, INP head Carlos Zacarias said during the virtual roadshow.
He linked exploration work in Mozambique to climate change mitigation and the drive to use cleaner sources of energy in order to comply with international commitments.
“The discovery of huge natural gas resources will facilitate a smooth transition,” Zacarias said. He also noted Mozambique’s potential for hydrogen and other forms of energy. Work in Mozambique has discovered around 125 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The licence round will run until the end of August. INP expects to announce the results at the end of November.
CGG senior geoscientist Javier Martin, speaking at the roadshow, said the question was “not whether there are hydrocarbons. It’s about where we drill for the next big discovery.”
Source: Club of Mozambique