South African integrated energy and chemical company Sasol announced that it will relinquish its exploration license in offshore Blocks 16 and 19 to the Government of Mozambique.
The announcement follows an evaluation of the exploration potential of the blocks and an assessment of the pre-feasibility phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment, conducted through Golder & Associates, an independent environmental specialist consulting firm.
“Sasol will return Block 16/19 in its entirety to the Government of Mozambique. To this end, a withdrawal notification has already been sent to the relevant Mozambican authorities,” the company said in a statement.
After being awarded the blocks in June 2005, Sasol assessed the hydrocarbon potential of their deep-water acreage within the licensed areas. After this assessment, the company relinquished the deep-water component of the license in July 2013 yet maintained the license for the shallow water area of the block to further explore its potential.
Despite giving up its exploration license, the petrochemicals giant aims to continue exploration for gas in onshore Pande and Temane fields, located in the northern province of Inhambane.
