By Ron Bousso and Tom Finn

LONDON/DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar Petroleum is interested in the Mozambique gas business of Italian energy group Eni and could opt to join Exxon Mobil in buying a multibillion-dollar stake, sources familiar with the matter said.

State-controlled Eni is looking to reduce a 50 percent stake in its giant Mozambique gas acreage as part of plans to sell 5 billion euros of assets over the next two years. Last month sources told Reuters Exxon had reached a deal that could give it an operating stake in the onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant, while leaving Eni in control of the Area 4 gas fields feeding it. Qatar Petroleum is in talks with Exxon and Eni on some kind of involvement in Mozambique which could involve a joint investment with the U.S. major, one senior QP source said, adding the deal was not a classic joint venture structure. A second Doha-based source, who declined to be named as not authorized to speak publicly, said Qatar Petroleum had been looking at Eni’s Area 4 field as well as adjoining acreage of Anadarko Petroleum Corp but added the focus was on Eni. “The expectation is that Qatar Petroleum and Exxon will go in on this together,” the source said, adding a Qatar Petroleum delegation planned to visit Mozambique before the year end. The sources cautioned no decision had as yet been taken by the Qatari company. Qatar Petroleum did not respond to requests for comment and Exxon and Eni declined to comment. Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar Petroleum CEO, recently confirmed the group was looking at assets in Africa.

Located in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin, Eni’s Area 4 is one of the biggest discoveries of recent times, holding about 85 trillion cubic feet of gas. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, who has spoken of selling a stake of up to 25 percent, said earlier this month a detailed agreement had been reached with a partner. In 2013 Eni sold 20 percent of Area 4 to China’s CNPC for $4.2 billion but since then oil and gas prices have dropped by more than half. A banker with knowledge of the matter said a 25 percent stake in the field could be worth in the region of 2 billion euros.

Exxon and QP are already close business partners in Qatar, where Exxon’s technical know-how helped the tiny Gulf state to develop its gas resources and become the world’s biggest as well as lowest-cost LNG producer.

Since then, both companies have jointly moved to exploit international LNG growth opportunities, including plans to build the Golden Pass liquefaction plant in the United States and bidding for exploration acreage in Cyprus.

A moratorium on new Qatari gas production since 2005 has hobbled domestic expansion opportunities at a time of intense competition for global LNG market share as new producers such as Australia challenge Qatar’s dominance. “The (Mozambique) gas will go east and so having Qatar on board with all its experience makes a lot of sense,” a banker with knowledge of the matter said.

(Writing by Stephen Jewkes, additional reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic in Milan, editing by William Hardy)

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By Joe Bavier

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund could lift a suspension on payments aimed at helping Guinea-Bissau emerge from years of political turmoil following an evaluation mission this week, the institution’s country representative said on Monday.

The IMF agreed a programme with Guinea-Bissau last year after 2014 elections drew a line under a coup two years earlier – one of a succession that have spawned chronic instability and helped make the West African country a haven for South American cocaine traffickers.

Disbursements were suspended in June, however, after the government took on 34 billion CFA francs ($58.3 million) in bad loans from two private banks. Donors followed suit and suspended budget support for 2016 equal to around 2.1 percent of GDP.

IMF representative Oscar Melhado told Reuters by email that the Fund welcomed a government decision to cancel the bailouts, whose value amounted to around 5.5 percent of GDP.

“The only remaining obstacle is the refusal of the banks to accept the bad portfolio back into their books,” he said.

The IMF had argued the bailouts benefited the wealthiest citizens and foreign investors. Authorities had said they were needed to shield the private sector from bankruptcy.

Monday was a public holiday and the banks, Banco da Africa Ocidental and Banco da União, were not available for comment.

Melhado said the government should also commit to implementing prudent macroeconomic policies and key structural reforms during the visit due to begin on Tuesday, which constitutes the first and second reviews of the IMF programme.

Disbursements worth 4.1 billion CFA could still be made this year if the reviews are approved by the IMF’s board in December.

Total donor contributions, including direct budget support and financing for targeted sectors and projects, typically make up around 80 percent of Guinea-Bissau’s budget. After the IMF freeze, Finance Minister Henrique Horta described the economic situation, including a budget deficit amounting to about 3.5 percent of GDP, as “catastrophic”.

The government of Guinea, which is helping to mediate in its smaller Portuguese-speaking neighbour, said earlier this month that Guinea-Bissau would not be able to pay the salaries of civil servants and the security forces from October.

“We hope that donors will resume support following the IMF. It would depend on each donor’s policy,” Melhado said.

The IMF visit comes days after an agreement to form a new government, ending a year-long political crisis that has paralysed state institutions.

($1 = 582.9600 CFA francs)

(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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By Ayman al-Warfalli

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday seized at least two key oil ports from a rival force loyal to the U.N.-backed government, risking a new conflict over the OPEC nation’s resources.

Ahmed al-Masmari, a spokesman for Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), said LNA fighters seized control of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and Brega, but still faced resistance at the port of Zueitina and around the nearby town of Ajdabiya.

The attacks on Libya’s major oil ports by Haftar, who opposes the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), pushes the North African state towards a broader battle over its oil resources and disrupts attempts to restart production.

Armed conflict, political disputes and militant attacks have reduced Libya’s oil production to about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.6 million bpd it was producing before an uprising and fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Haftar, a former army general who has been a divisive figure in Libya since Gaddafi was toppled, has resisted attempts to integrate him into a unified armed forces and overcome divisions between the east and west regions.

Many in western Libya and Tripoli criticize Haftar as a former Gaddafi ally bent on establishing a military dictatorship, but he has become a political figurehead for many in the east who feel abandoned by the capital.

The state-run National Oil Corporation confirmed Ras Lanuf and Es Sider were under full control of Haftar forces while Zueitina was still held by loyalist forces.

EXPORT QUESTIONS

The attacks complicate Western attempts to bring together Libya’s rival armed factions under the GNA and stabilise a country where chaos allowed Islamist militants and migrant smugglers to operate across swathes of territory.

Control by Haftar’s brigades will also raise questions for the market about the legality of crude exports by a force opposed to the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.

A government and parliament based in the east still resist the GNA’s authority in Tripoli and they have in the past threatened to try to sell crude themselves.

The ports targeted by the LNA were previously under the control of the Petrol Facilities Guard (PFG), which struck a deal with the GNA in July to end its blockade of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina.

A port engineer confirmed that Haftar’s forces had entered Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, Libya’s largest, and said a tank at Es Sider had been set alight in the clashes. The NOC said the blaze was in a small fuel tank for power generation.

The LNA’s claims of control could not immediately be verified and Ali al-Hassi, a PFG spokesman, said fighting was continuing at Ras Lanuf.

In recent weeks, as the PFG struck its deal with the GNA to try to restart exports, the LNA mobilised in the area leading to fears of a struggle for control.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation has been removing oil stored at Zueitina because of fears it could be lost during any clashes.

Ras Lanuf and Es Sider were badly damaged earlier this year in attacks by Islamic State militants based in Sirte, where they are currently on the verge of defeat by forces aligned with the GNA backed by U.S. air strikes.

(Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Patrick Markey and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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