Anadarko nds new offshore gas

MAPUTO — US-group Anadarko Petroleum said yesterday it discovered up to 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the Mozambique coast con rming the country as a new gas frontier.

Texas-based Anadarko said it had found more than 92 metres of "high quality" natural gas at its Atum discovery well in northern Mozambique's Rovuma Basin.

"We estimate this new complex... holds 10 to 30plus trillion cubic feet of incremental and recoverable natural gas resources," the company's senior vice-president for worldwide exploration Bob Daniels said in a statement.

The Atum discovery is expected to increase the bidding war between Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production and Royal Dutch Shell for UK-listed Cove Energy, whose 8.5 per cent stake in the elds is currently up for sale.

The latest nd is connected to a discovery of at least 7 trillion cubic feet at Anadarko's nearby "Gol nho" well last month. — AFP