International relations

Sasol in Papua New Guinea exploration

8 September 2008

Sasol Petroleum International (SPI) has obtained a 51% working interest in four hydrocarbon prospecting licences covering a land area of 37 000 square kilometers, close to established gas fields in the "foreland" area of Papua New Guinea.

"This is an exciting opportunity to unlock potential natural gas resources in Papua New Guinea," Sasol Group GM Lean Strauss said in a statement last week. "We look forward to working with our new partners and the government of Papua New Guinea."

Geographic expansion

During the past few years, SPI has successfully grown their business from securing and developing gas and liquid assets, primarily in Mozambique and West Africa, to an operational natural gas supplier to various Sasol businesses and external customers mainly in southern Africa.

In February this year, the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investment Company (Rompco) - consisting of Sasol, iGas and Compania Mozambicana de Gasoduto - announced the construction of a R1.1-billion gas compression station to increase the delivery of natural gas delivery from Mozambique to South Africa by 20%, by the end of 2009.

In July, Sasol and Mozambican state-owned energy company Empresa Naçional de Hidrocarbonetos started their gas exploration project off the Mozambican coast, with drilling expected to start in the third quarter of 2008. If successful, the natural gas will be sold to markets in Mozambique and South Africa.

Earlier this month, Sasol and the international OSHO consortium won two of nine hydrocarbonates prospecting concessions tendered by the Mozambican government. The concessions, known as area A and B, are located in the southern province of Inhambane and in the Rovuma basin in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Sasol Petroleum PNG

Seismic surveying is scheduled to commence in October 2008. The exploration work will be carried out by newly formed Sasol Petroleum Papua New Guinea in Blocks PPL285, PPL286, PPL287 and PPL 288.

Sasol's partners in the exploration project include Papua Petroleum Limited, a Papua New Guinea-based exploration company.

"As part of Sasol's growth strategy, SPI is spreading its footprint beyond Africa to significantly increase its hydrocarbon resources by securing new gas reserves to enable the achievement of Sasol's gas-to-liquids ambitions," the statement read.

SAinfo reporter



	South African companies are increasingly exploring offshore Mozambique and other African countries for natural gas deposits (Photo: Northern Offshore)