A quarter of the indirect interest in the Area 4 concession offshore Mozambique will be paid $2.8 billion in cash by Exxon Mobil Corp. after Eni SpA agreed to a partnership in the endeavor. The United States–based company is getting an equal share of 35.7% in Eni East Africa, which owns 70% of the natural gas block, according to terms of the deal signed on Thursday. The remaining 28.6% is held by China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC).
"This deal represents material evidence of our exploration strategy based on the early monetization of our exploration discoveries, as a part of our ‘dual-exploration’ model. Through this strategy, Eni has been able to cash in more than $9 billion in the last four years," said Claudio Descalzi, Eni's chief executive.
The Italian energy giant will keep running all of the upstream sector in the concession as well as Coral, a floating liquefied natural gas project, while ExxonMobil will be in charge of the development of onshore LNG facilities. The remaining interests in Area 4, of 10% each, are held by Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mozambique EP, Kogas, and Galp Energia. The block's reserves are estimated at 85 trillion cubic feet (2.41 trillion cubic meters).
