Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (E) will invest $50 billion developing its huge Mozambique natural gas discovery with a view to exporting the gas to Asian markets, its Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said in an interview Friday after a visit to East Africa.
Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (E) will invest $50 billion
developing its huge Mozambique natural gas discovery with a view to exporting
the gas to Asian markets, its Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said in an
interview Friday after a visit to East Africa.
Eni's recent discovery of 22.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in
Mozambique
, and
earlier discoveries in
Tanzania
, are
part of the transformation of
East Africa
into
a fast-growing gas hub, and confirms the region's growing importance as a
launch pad for exports to gas-hungry
Asia
.
"We aim to have several liquefiers working for
Southeast
Asia
," Scaroni told Dow Jones Newswires. "The gas is targeted for
Asia
."
Eni will employ 40,000 people at a new facility in the country's north, near
its gas find, Scaroni said.
Eni recently said that it planned to build two or three liquefiers in
Mozambique
, and
that the first gas could be liquefied in 2016.
Friday, Scaroni said it was too soon to talk about income levels from the
Mozambique
gas
field.
"We are still drilling four more wells," he said.
Tanzania
,
where
U.K.
gas
giant BP PLC (BP) is already operating, has a head start, but
Mozambique
is
catching up quickly and has more gas than its northern neighbor.
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) also recently reported a major find in
Mozambique
, and
has begun planning at least two liquefied natural gas facilities capable of
exporting to
China
,
South
Korea
and
Japan
.
Scaroni met with
Mozambique
President Armando Guebuza in
Maputo
Thursday
to discuss Eni's investment plans.
"We have to build a new town, and we discussed the location with
him," said Scaroni. "It has to be near the discovery, but we all have
to agree on where. We had a broad discussion about Eni's investment in the country
and what it will mean."
Scaroni noted that as the recent gas discoveries have catapulted
Mozambique
, one
of the world's poorest countries, into the ranks of newly-rich hydrocarbon
producers, President Guebuza plans to send advisors to
Nigeria
and
Angola
to
get familiar with oil and gas operations there.
Scaroni said he also visited
South
Africa
to talk to President Jacob
Zuma about exporting some of the
Mozambique
gas
to
South Africa
.
"We spoke about what the impact of this new gas find will be on the
region," he said.
Eni is already exploring for shale gas in
South
Africa
with state-owned oil company
PetroSA.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01