Italy's ENI optimistic about Mozambique oil

Maputo - The Italian energy company, ENI, is optimistic it will find a huge oil deposit in northern Mozambique's Rovuma Basin, a top Italian official told reporters Tuesday in the country's capital. Italy's Deputy Minister for Economic Development Adolfo Urso said ENI's exploration since 2007 has confirmed its optimism about the potential, especially in the offshore segment of the basin. 'There is a greater likelihood of finding large oil deposits in the deep waters offshore', he said. Seismic surveys and drilling started at the beginning of 2007 after the government awarded exploration concessions to ENI and three other companies - Norway-listed Artumas, the US Anadarko and Petronas of Malaysia. The companies have invested an estimated 300 million dollars in drilling eight exploratory wells. The 400-km-by-160-km Rovuma Basin is centred on the Rovuma Delta near the border between Mozambique and Tanzania. The basin is both onshore and offshore, according to Mozambique's National Petroleum Institute, and covers about 60,000 square kilometres in the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado. Urso was in Mozambique leading a group of Italian investors looking for opportunities and perspectives in Mozambique. He said the Italian government would help Italian firms to set up in Mozambique, with a view to having a base for further investments in the 14-member Southern African Development Community that includes Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Besides Italian interest in fossil fuels, showcased by the huge investment in the drilling, Italy is also interested in investing in Mozambique's alternative energy sources such as biofuels.