History
Between 1948 and 1974 very intensive prospecting for fossil fuels was undertaken in Mozambique, both onshore and offshore, by several international groups or consortiums. Up to 1971 these companies had drilled 54 exploratory boreholes, of which 12 took place offshore.
Chronological Chart of Hydrocarbon Surveying Activities in Mozambique (1948 – 1971)
| 1948 | Assinatura de contrato de pesquisa com a Mozambique Gulf Oil/Pan America |
| 1952 | Golf Oil inicia sondagens onshore |
| 1961 | Golf Oil efectua descoberta do Campo de Pande (declarado sub-comercial) |
| 1967 | Golf Oil efectua descoberta do Campo de Temane (declarado sub-comercial) |
| 1967 | Assinatura do contrato de pesquisa com a Sunray Mozambique Oil Co./Clark Mozambique Co./Mozambique Oil Co. |
| 1967 | Assinatura do contrato de pesquisa com a Aquitaine/ Erap/Angloamerican Corp/Gelsenberg |
| 1968 | Assinatura do contrato de pesquisa com a Hunt International Petroleum Co. |
| 1969 | Golf Oil realiza primeiro furo offshore |
| 1970 | Sunray, Aquitaine e a Hunt, iniciam campanhas de pesquisa |
From 1972 onwards, due to the social and political conditions in the country (the War of National Liberation) the hydrocarbon surveying activities ceased and it was later resumed in 1980, after the Independence of Mozambique with the creation of the State Department for Coal and Hydrocarbon by-Products (SECH) whose objective was to define the strategy for the sector and to resume the surveying program in the country.
A year later (1981) the first legislation regulating oil production was introduced and the public company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), E.E., was created to promote the sector. Since then, new mechanisms and studies have been adopted to determine the hydrocarbon potential of the Mozambique and Rovuma Basins.
As a result of these developments surveying was resumed and in 1998, Sasol acquired 100% of the participation of ARCO in the Temane Field, and that of Enron in the Pande Field, and in cooperation with ENH, formed a consortium for the exploration of natural gas in Pande and Temane (Sasol – 70% and ENH – 30%).