ExxonMobil to acquire interest in Mozambique Area 4 from Eni

ExxonMobil Corp. and Eni SPA have signed a sale and purchase agreement to enable ExxonMobil to acquire from Eni a 25% indirect interest in the natural gas-rich Area 4 block offshore Mozambique.

Eni currently holds a 50% indirect share in the block through a 71.4% stake in Eni East Africa, which owns 70% of the Area 4 concession.

The agreed terms include a cash price of about $2.8 billion. The acquisition will be completed following satisfaction of a number of conditions precedent, including clearance from Mozambican and other regulatory authorities.

Eni will continue to lead the 3.3 million-tonne/year Coral floating LNG project as well as a 10 million-tpy onshore liquefaction joint venture in Area 4, while ExxonMobil will lead the construction and operation of natural gas liquefaction facilities onshore.

Following completion of the transaction, Eni East Africa SPA will be co-owned by Eni 35.7%, ExxonMobil 35.7%, and China National Petroleum Corp. 28.6%. The remaining interests in Area 4 are held by Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos de Mozambique EP, Korea Gas Corp., and Galp Energia, each with 10% interest.

Eni and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. signed a unitization and operating agreement in late 2015 that regulates the development of reserves straddling Anadarko’s Area 1 and Eni’s Area 4. They jointly proposed a two-train, 10 million-tpy onshore facility that will start up in 2022. Anadarko is developing a separate two-train, 12 million-tpy project that is expected to start up in 2021 for $15 billion, according to recent estimates.

The deepwater Area 4 block is believed to contains 85 tcf of gas.