ONGC, OIL and BPCL to invest $6 bn to develop Mozambique offshore gas field

State-run oil companies ONGC, OIL and BPCL will invest $6 billion over the next four years in developing a Mozambique offshore gas field, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, said yesterday.

"In Mozambique, where I have just concluded my official visit, we have invested more than $6 billion. Another $6 billion will be invested to develop Rovuma Area 1 field," Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi.

ONGC holds a 16-per cent stake in the 'Offshore Area One' block, while BPCL holds 10 per cent and OIL with 4 per cent.

Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum, the operator of the deepwater Rovuma offshore area-1, made the first discovery in 2010, making it to be one of the most important natural gas discoveries in the last 20 years.

Rovuma 1 covers about 2.6 million acres in the deep-water Mozambique and is the largest gas discovery offshore East Africa.  The discoveries in the Rovuna area will make Mozambique the third largest producer of liquid gas by 2019 after Australia and Qatar.

Anadarko and its partners have discovered more than 75 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable natural gas resources in Offshore Area 1 and are working to develop one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.

Anardarko's Area 1 and Eni of Italy, which is developing Area 4 in the Rovuna Basin, hold combined recoverable reserves of 120 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Both companies have agreed to jointly build an onshore gas liquefaction facility in the Afungi LNG Industrial Park in Mozambique's northern province of Cabo Delgado at a cost of around $50 billion, making it one of the world's largest and most expensive LNG developments.

The onshore gas liquefaction facility will have a capacity and infrastructure for 12 liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains for export, and Anadarko and its partners are expected to invest around $15 billion to complete the initial two trains.

India currently has 18,000 megawatts (MW) of power capacity idled due to a gas shortage, and another 10,000 MW in the pipeline waiting commissioning. The Rovuma discovery is 20 times India's current annual gas consumption, and the three Indian state-run oil companies plan to bring their share of the gas to the country.