US group Anadarko Petroleum is analysing the possibility of setting up a partnership with a third party to share the costs of development of the massive natural gas discoveries off the Mozambican coast, said group vice president John Colglazier.

Cited by Dow Jones Newswires, the vice president for investor relations noted that the group was considering the sale of around a third of 36.5 percent stake it holds in the Area 1 block of the Rovuma basin, “in order to minimise the risk of our asset portfolio.”

Anadarko, which is the operator of Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin has as its partners in that block Japan’s Mitsui (20 percent), BPRL Ventures and Videocon (both from India and with 10 percent each), Thai state company PTTEP (8.5 percent) and Mozambique’s Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) with 15 percent.

At the beginning of the year Royal Dutch Shell tried to move into the market by acquiring Irish company Cove Energy, which had an 8.5 percent stake inn the block, but was beaten to it by Thai group PTT Exploration and Production, which offered US$1.9 billion for the Irish company.

At a meeting with analysts, Colglazier said that the block contained between 35 and 65 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas and added that further discoveries were likely. (macauhub)