Mozambique Oil & Gas: Russia’s Rosneft, US Exxon Jointly Bid for Fields

Russia’s Rosneft and U.S. ExxonMobil have jointly applied to take part in a tender for hydrocarbon fields in Mozambique, Rosneft said in a statement on Thursday. Exxon will be the operator if the two companies win the tender, Rosneft said.

Exxon has suspended cooperation with Rosneft in Russia itself because of Western sanctions against Rosneft linked to the Ukraine crisis. Rosneft said that fields are located in Angoche basin (A5-A and A5-B) and in Zambezi Delta (Z5-C and Z5-D).

However the global partnership of the companies is of a strategic nature. Rosneft and ExxonMobil have a proven track record of highly successful cooperation at the Sakhalin-1 project, and are each committed to continuing to operate in an environmentally responsible manner in Mozambique if selected. Rosneft and ExxonMobil decided to file joint bids for the participation in the license round for contract areas in the Angoche Basin and Zambezi Delta. If successful ExxonMobil will become the operator. The prospectivity assessment for the exploration on these contract areas was confirmed within the cooperation of both Companies’ geological analysis.

The participation in exploration and development projects in Mozambique is a new focus area of Rosneft’s international strategy: the Company promotes its positioning in regions of significant hydrocarbon potential, where production is possible in the mid and long-term. These projects allow Rosneft to obtain access to high-quality assets, while abiding an effective investment policy. The partnerships with global industry leaders, such as ExxonMobil, allows the Company to minimize the risks in the implementation of frontier exploration projects.