The state-run Korea Gas Corp. said Thursday it has discovered a natural gas deposit off the coast of Mozambique with a supply sufficient for the country’s needs for a year.

The deposit was found at one of four wells in an offshore block in northern Mozambique waters and estimated to hold 15 trillion cubic feet of gas, 10 percent of which reserved for Korea, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.

Eni S.p.A., Italy’s refining-focused conglomerate, is the biggest shareholder in the project with 70 percent. The rest is split three ways between KOGAS, Portugal’s Galp Energia and the Mozambique national energy company.

“This discovery is projected to greatly boost gas supplies and the country’s energy self-sufficiency,” the ministry said in a statement.

KOGAS has been engaged in the deepwater exploration project with other partners since early 2007 as the government strives to curb its reliance on energy imports, and embarked on drilling last month, the ministry reported.

The ministry added that the state-run energy explorer will drill the other three wells by January 2013 to see if there are other reserves there.

Mozambique, which became independent from Portugal in 1975, is one of the poorest countries in the world with almost no energy production at home.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)