South African petrochemical giant Sasol Ltd opted to withdraw its gas exploration license, between Inhambane and Sofala, off the coast of Mozambique, the company said.

A company statement quoted by Reuters says that "Sasol will return Block 16/19 in its entirety to the Government of Mozambique. To this end, a withdrawal notification has already been sent to the relevant authorities in Mozambique".

Mozambique: Sasol says his gas project will not be affected by the debt crisis
The subsidiary Sasol Petroleum Sofala received the research license in 2005. In 2013, it abandoned the deep water portion of the license, maintaining the assessment of hydrocarbon potential in the shallow water portion. The gas discovered in one of the Njika holes, in the deep waters, was considered not commercially viable.

With this change, the exploration area went from 10,548 km2 to 2,857 km2, according to data from the National Petroleum Institute.

The research was carried out in partnership with the Mozambican National Hydrocarbon Company.

It is reported that Sasol is facing some financial challenges.

The company continues to explore onshore gas in Pande and Temane, in the province of Inhambane, southern Mozambique.

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