* PetroChina, Exxon Mobil, Shell seen as possible suitors
* First round bids due March 14
By Denny Thomas
HONG KONG, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas explorerAnadarko Petroleum Corp and Indian billionaire VenugopalDhoot have launched the auction of a 20 percent stake in aMozambique gas field that could fetch $4.5 billion, sourcesfamiliar with the matter told Reuters.
The Rovuma offshore field is drawing major interest afterrecent discoveries boosted Mozambique's gas reserves to around150 trillion cubic feet, enough to supply number one importerJapan for 35 years. The east African country is expected tocompete with Australia and Qatar as a major provider ofliquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia in the future.
PetroChina and Exxon Mobil Corp are among suitorsexpected to submit indicative proposals, sources with directknowledge of the matter told Reuters. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which last year missed out on a stake in the samefield when it lost a takeover battle for Cove Energy Plc, isalso interested, they added.
Shell and Exxon declined to comment. PetroChina officialswere not available for comment.
Dhoot, who controls consumer electronics to mobile-phoneservices conglomerate Videocon Group, is leading the process andhas hired two investment banks to handle the sale, the sourcesadded.
First round bids are due on March 14 after an informationmemorandum on the sale was sent to potential bidders in earlyFebruary, one of the sources added.
Anadarko CEO Al Walker last month told an earningsconference call that the company was looking to sell a 10percent interest in the block, taking the firm's stake to 26.5percent.
Anadarko, the project operator, has the highest interest,while Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd is the second-biggestholder with a 20 percent stake. Together with ENI SpA which owns an adjacent field and is cooperating on building gasliquefaction facilities, Anadarko hopes to ship out first LNG in2018.
Mozambique has a competitive advantage over America andEuropean countries in supplying LNG to gas-hungry Asian marketsdue to its proximity, one reason why global energy majors areexpected to take active interest in the sale, sources say.
Last year, Thailand state oil company PTT Energy trumped Shell to take control of Cove Energy and its 8.5 percentstake in the field for $1.9 billion. On a similar valuation the20 percent stake on offer could fetch about $4.5 billion,sources said.
Videocon is seeking about $2.5-$3 billion for its 10 pctstake, though sources warned buyers are unlikely to pay a hugepremium over what PTT paid.
"PTT paid what was a good price, but to get to a $3 billionprice tag is difficult," one person familiar with the processsaid.
A spokesman for Anadarko did not immediately respond to arequest for comment on Monday, while Dhoot declined to comment.
Dhoot paid $75 million for the Rovuma 1 stake in 2008.
India state-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd owns another 10 percent stake in gas project.