The Mozambican government plans to charge a 12.8 percent tax on the profits from the sale of Cove Energy, which has a stake in a gas field in northern Mozambique, the Irish company said Tuesday.

In a statement posted on its website, Cove Energy announced that, following contacts with the Mozambican government, it had received information that profit on the transaction would be taxed at a rate of 12.8 percent.

The company has an 8.5 percent stake in Area 1 of Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin, where the main operator, US group Anadarko Petroleum announced it had discovered natural gas reserves estimated to total 30 trillion cubic feet.

Some large companies in the sector have shown interest in buying Cove Energy, such as Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch Shell, which has offered US$1.6 billion and Thailand’s PTT which raised the offer to US$1.8 billion. (macauhub)