London — The South African company Sasol has announced that it is searching for more natural gas in Mozambique. Exploratory drilling is to start in two weeks time in the existing gas fields at Pande and Temane.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Sasol's Executive Director Pat Davies said he was confident there were more natural gas reserves near the Pande and Temane fields. He told Reuters that "we know there's more gas out there. It could be double the amount of gas we have right now." It has been estimated that the two fields hold 85 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The gas field at Temane will be tapped first, and it is planned to bring the field at Pande on line three years later when the pressures of the Temane reservoir drops to the same level as the Pande field.

Sasol is building an 865 kilometre pipeline from the gas fields to its own chemical plants in Secunda in South Africa, which is set to cross the national border between the two countries soon. The 1.2 billion dollar project is due to be operational by June 2004.

It is estimated that the Mozambican state will earn two billion dollars in taxes and royalties, while the South African state will receive 3.2 billion dollars in taxes, during the 25 years of its expected life. Economists have calculated that the project will eventually contribute more than 20 per cent to Mozambique's GDP.