Qatar Petroleum said it has entered signed a deal with ExxonMobil to acquire a 10 percent participating interest in three offshore exploration blocks in the Angoche and Zambezi basins in Mozambique.

Following such approval, the various partners composing the consortium will be made up of the units of ExxonMobil (operator) with a 50 percent participating interest, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (20 percent), Rosneft (20 percent) and Qatar Petroleum (10 percent).

Commenting on the agreement, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs, and president & CEO of Qatar Petroleum said this marks the company’s first foray into Mozambique’s offshore basins.

He added the company hopes the exploratory efforts will commence soon.

The offshore blocks are A5-B in the Angoche basin, and Z5-C and Z5-D, in the Zambezi basin, both underexplored.

The two Zambezi blocks have a total area of about 10,200 square km with water depths ranging from about 200 to 2,000 meters, while the Angoche basin block has an area of about 6,450 square km with water depths ranging from about 1,800 to 2,500 meters.