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* Deal affects two adjacent fields in the Rovuma Basin * Cos say ops in the two fields will eventually be combined * Will jointly construct onshore gas liquefaction facilities * Some 150 tcf of gas already found off Mozambique coast * Exxon, Shell, others have yet to gain a foothold there By Francesca Landini MILAN, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil and gas companies Eni and Anadarko plan to unite their neighbouring gas fieldsoff Mozambique's coast, boosting the development prospects ofone of the world's most significant new energy projects. The two companies said on Friday that while their offshoreactivities would remain separate at first, they would beconducted in a co-ordinated way and the two adjacent fields theyoperate in the Rovuma Basin would eventually be combined. Meanwhile, the partners will jointly plan and constructcommon onshore gas liquefaction facilities in the Cabo Delgadoprovince of northern Mozambique. Four of the five largest oil and gas discoveries in theworld this year have been made off Mozambique. Potentially thebiggest and most profitable of them all sits across the borderbetween the blocks operated by state-backed Italian group Eniand U.S. independent Anadarko. Some 150 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas have been foundoff the east African country's shores so far, enough to supplyGermany, Britain, France and Italy for 15 years, and thegovernment and companies scouting wells have estimated there maybe potential to double that estimate. Even the first stage of proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)facilities that allow the gas to be transported by special shipto energy-hungry Asian markets could satisfy 10 percent ofdemand in Japan, one of the region's biggest LNG markets. COMMON RESOURCES "We expect the HOA (heads of agreement) to lead to aunitisation agreement to further facilitate the efficientdevelopment of the common resources," said Anadarko Presidentand CEO Al Walker. He said the two groups would work alongside the Mozambicangovernment toward a shared target of exporting first LNG cargoesin 2018. A source familiar with the deal said it increased thelikelihood that the 2018 deadline would be met. "It's an important step because it shows they've got round atable fast to agree to work together (on unitisation)," thesource said. "The importance is that without an agreementproject times could have been thrown back." Takeover talk has swirled around Anadarko through the pastyear, in large part because of its Mozambique position, with onebanker describing the company as "the oil industry hottest M&Aprospect in years". A source close to Royal Dutch Shell has said theNetherlands-based world No. 2 has held talks about buying intoAnadarko's block and is also interested in Eni's. Traders havealso speculated Shell might bid for Anadarko. Shell tried and failed earlier this year to buy a companythat holds a stake in the Anadarko block. Thai group PTT eventually won the contest for Cove Energy with a $1.9billion bid after Shell backed away from a bidding contest. Other big players including BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron are also seen as likely to seek an interestin the fields. Shell and Chevron in particular are bettingheavily on LNG as a future source of income, and do not want tofind the costly Australian projects into which they are sinkingtens of billions of dollars priced out of the market. Friday's deal also represents a boost for Mozambique, whichaims to use the gas finds as a starting point to developdomestic industries as the LNG exports lift government revenueby between $6 billion and $8 billion a year. Anadarko is the operator of Mozambique's offshore Area 1with a 36.5 percent interest. Japanese group Mitsui & Co owns 20 percent, India's Bharat Petroleum Corp 10 percent, Videocon Industries Ltd 10percent, PTT 8.5 percent and Mozambique's state-owned ENH 15percent. Eni operates Area 4 with a 70 percent interest. Portugal'sGalp Energia, South Korea's KOGAS and ENH hold 10percent each. Anadarko's stock climbed 2.5 percent on Thursday, making itthe biggest gainer among top international oil stocks, althoughit is a consistently volatile stock and in out-of-hours tradingon Friday it had given up much of that gain. Eni shares were little changed.