Statoil Farms Out Mozambique License

Norwegian oil major Statoil announced Tuesday that it has farmed down a 25-percent working interest in its exploration license offshore Mozambique to Japan's Inpex Corporation.

The license, which consists of two blocks, is located in areas 2 and 5 offshore Mozambique in the Rovuma Basin. They are situated in a frontier area covering 3,100 square miles in water depths that vary between 985 and 8,200 feet.

"The farm-down reflects the attractiveness of Statoil's acreage in Mozambique. Bringing INPEX onboard allows the companies to diversify geological risk while sharing the potential upside. The first out of two wells in the license will be drilled during 2Q by the drillship Discoverer Americas," Nick Maden, Statoil's senior vice president for international exploration at Statoil.

"Our presence in Mozambique is in line with Statoil's exploration strategy, focusing on early access in a prolific region. Large gas discoveries have recently been made north of the acreage and the prospectivity for hydrocarbons in the Statoil operated blocks is promising."

After the farm-in completion the license will continue to be operation by Statoil Oil & Gas Mozambique with a 40-percent participating interest. As well as Inpex, other partners include Tullow Mozambique, with a 25-percent interest, and the Mozambican state oil company, which has 10 percent.

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