London-listed oil company, Wentworth Resources said drilling of oil has begun in the recently discovered oil and gas reserves in Northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
“The test well would be drilled to a depth of 4,250 metres and would take between 60 and 90 days,” said Wentworth Resources in a statement.
Wentworth Resources is part of the consortium concerned with the drilling process in Mozambique in which US group Anadarko Petroleum is the operator.
The oil field is the first to produce oil commercially in Mozambique, where so far there have only been viable natural gas discoveries.
Mozambique has around 4.5 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, but until the beginning of last year had no recorded oil reserves. The country has extensive onshore and offshore sedimentary basins containing natural gas, most of which has yet to be explored, as well as significant coal reserves, which are considered to be the biggest in the world
Economic analysts are predicting that Mozambican economy which is standing at 6.5 percent, to rise to 7.3 percent this year and 7.6 percent in 2015.
The industrial sector is expected to make the biggest contribution to economic growth over the next two years: 9 percent growth in 2014 and 14 percent in 2015. (Ventures Africa)
