Sasol: Eni acquires 40% of east coast licence

Italian oil multinational Eni has bought 40 percent of a licence held by Sasol off the east coast of South Africa to explore for hydrocarbons. The agreement is for exploration permit 236, south of Mozambique, the country where Eni and Anadarko Petroleum have discovered more than 100 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to statements by Eni and Sasol. Sasol said it would retain a 60 percent stake in the three-year lease, which was granted in November last year. The area is in the Durban and Zululand basins, offshore of KwaZulu-Natal. “Accelerated exploration activity, as represented by ER236, will have many positive benefits for South Africa and the broader region, in terms of energy security and increasing levels of international investment,” Sasol chief executive David Constable said in the statement. The deal is subject to state approval. Companies including Exxon Mobil, Anadarko and Royal Dutch Shell have begun prospecting in South African waters as new technology increases their ability to find oil deep beneath the seabed. Total expected to drill offshore in mid-2014, spokeswoman Anastasia Zhivulina said on Friday. The company has hired the Eirik Raude drilling rig. – Bloomberg