With several major gas discoveries off Tanzania and in the deep waters off Mozambique, companies including Statoil, Ophir Energy, Cove Energy, Eni and Anadarko have uncovered upside potential of 100 trillion cubic feet based on the past 18 months alone, according to Cove’s executive chairman Michael Blaha.

Many believe this is just the start, with Shell and Petrobras preparing to sink the drillbit farther north as the search extends through Kenya’s Lamu deep and into neglected plays off Somalia.

Interest