Ophir Energy has confirmed that it is looking to sell down its interests in three deepwater blocks containing large discoveries offshore east Africa’s Tanzania.

The company owns stakes in Blocks 1, 3 and 4, and added that it was making its statement after noting media speculation. The company said it has an ongoing process to sell down a part interest in these blocks, but that there is no certainty that the process will conclude successfully “nor can there be any certainty about the value of any such deal if it were to complete”. It also said it would update the market further as appropriate.

Ophir is a 40% partner with BG Group (60% and operator) in Block 4, which contains the Pweza discovery, which is lined up to feed an onshore LNG hub. Both companies also hold the same interests in blocks 1 and 3. The current resource estimates for Pweza stand at 1.7 Tcf of gross recoverable resources, Ophir has stated previously.