KOGAS discovers more gas in Mozambique

The Korea Gas Corp. has detected another deposit of natural gas off the coast of Mozambique with a potential supply sufficient for the country’s needs for eight months, the government said Monday.

The reserve was found at one of four wells in an offshore block in northern Mozambique waters and predicted to possess 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

Eni S.p.A. of Italy holds a 70 percent stake in the project. KOGAS, Portugal’s Galp Energia and Mozambique’s state-funded ENH own 10 percent each.

The latest finding, the third of its kind since the maiden discovery in October, expanded the total estimates to 60 TCF, or 900 million tons.

KOGAS has been participating in the deepwater program since 2007 as Asia’s fourth-largest economy scrambles to curb its heavy dependence on resources imports. A host of public and private companies have also been venturing into overseas resources development at home and abroad in recent years, seeking to hedge against volatile commodity prices.

Korea is the world’s fifth-largest crude buyer and the second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas. It imports almost all of its oil needs.

The state-run energy firm will seek extra deposits throughout this year as it plans to drill more wells, the ministry said in February.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)