Mozambique launches 4th onshore oil bid round

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Mozambique on Wednesday announced the opening of its fourth licensing round for seven onshore areas, a senior official of the country's Institute of National Petroleum (INP) said.

"I am glad and have the honour to announce on behalf of INP from today we have launched a new bidding round for onshore areas in Mozambique," Carlos Zacarias, exploration manager, told delegates attending an African oil conference.

Zacarias said the next bidding round will last for some six months, as international oil companies target massive gas and fewer oil reserves in the southern African nation.

He said a data room will be opened next Monday for companies to pay for seismic and other information related to the seven sites up for grabs.

"The bid evaluation will start in May and we expect the awards will start from September 2010," Zacarias said.