A dozen bidders, among them three companies owned by the Chinese state, have been shortlisted for a forthcoming international auction of licences to find and tap reserves of oil and gas in Mozambique, the Notícias Online website says, citing the Mozambican National Petroleum Institute.

The institute says the Chinese companies on the short list are China National Offshore Oil Corp. Hong Kong Holding Ltd, Sinopec International Energy Investment Ltd and Petro-China International Iraq FZE, according to a report posted on the website last week.

The report says the bidders must provide evidence of their corporate capability, assess the extraction potential of the blocks being auctioned, and submit their bids by August 30.

The winning bidders will be known on November 30, the report says. Mozambique has reserves of natural gas estimated to amount to 180 trillion cubic feet, which could make the country one of the three biggest exporters of gas in the world, the Notícias Online website says.