The company Eni Mozambico S.p.A is preparing to deploy the first exploration well in Area A5-A off the coast of Angoche in Nampula province, the National Petroleum Institute (INP) announced in a communique issued last week.
The West Capella drilling platform, owned by Aquadrill, and contracted by the concessionaires to prospect in the area, is already in national waters and is about to reach the site of the research well.
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This development follows the completion of a first assessment of petroleum potential in the concession area, an activity agreed with the government under the Exploration and Production Concession Contract (EPC) signed in December, 2018, as a result of the fifth Licensing Round for Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production, a contract which entered into force in January of the following year.
The evaluation of petroleum potential during the first period of research in the area culminated in identifying the location for the Raia well. Consequently, the Italian oil major and its partners decided to drill the well, activity on which is expected to start this April.
One of the purposes of drilling the Raia well is to investigate the presence of hydrocarbons in Tertiary turbiditic complexes.
This is the first exploratory drilling in this part of the Mozambique Basin, and will greatly further the collection of geological information and the assessment of the region’s petroleum potential.
Area A5-A is located offshore of Angoche in Nampula province, at a water depth varying from 300 to 1,800 metres. It is located approximately 50 km from Angoche, and 220 km from Nacala, and covers some 4,612 square kilometres.
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The consortium currently operating in the area is formed by Eni Mozambico S.p.A., which holds a 49.5% participating interest; Qatar Energy Mozambique, Limitada (25.5%); the state National Hydrocarbons Company (15.0%); and Sasol Petroleum Mozambique Exploration (10.0%).
