Italian energy giant Eni and its partners have officially signed off on the Coral North floating liquefied natural gas project offshore Mozambique, positioning the country to become one of Africa’s top LNG producers. The signing ceremony in Maputo was attended by Mozambique President Daniel Chapo and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.
The new platform, a replica of the sister platform Coral South which began exports to Europe in 2022, will double Mozambique’s LNG output to over 7 million tons per annum once operational. The project is scheduled to start operations in 2028 and is expected to generate $23 billion in tax revenues, create thousands of jobs, and assign $3 billion in contracts to local companies.
Located in the Rovuma Basin far out into the ocean, Coral North has avoided the security concerns that have plagued onshore LNG terminals being developed by TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil, which have faced delays due to an Islamist insurgency in the region. The project will be implemented by a joint venture formed by Eni (50%), China National Petroleum Company (20%), Korea Gas Corporation (10%), Mozambican state-owned ENH (10%), and ADNOC’s subsidiary XRG (10%).
With a production liquefaction capacity of 3.6 million tons per annum, Coral North will make Mozambique the third-largest LNG producer in Africa.
Sources: trendsnafrica.com, energy-pedia.com, bairdmaritime.com