The President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou N’Guesso, and Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, attended a ceremony in Pointe-Noire marking the first cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Nguya FLNG floating facility, signaling the start of gas exports from Phase 2 of the Congo LNG project.
With Phase 2 operational, the Congo LNG project reaches a total liquefaction capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum of LNG, equivalent to 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually, leveraging gas resources from the Nené and Litchendjili fields in the offshore Marine XII license.
The achievement represents a significant step toward Eni’s target of expanding its LNG portfolio to 20 million tonnes per annum by 2030, leveraging the flexibility, competitiveness and geographical diversification of its equity projects, building a leading position in the global LNG market.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi commented that the milestone was achieved thanks to the relationship of trust built with the country’s institutions and local communities. He noted that Eni has been the only company to invest in gas to develop the domestic market and reduce routine flaring, a decision made more than 20 years ago that led to discovery of sufficient volumes to enable export as well.
Phase 2 of the Congo LNG project was delivered in record time compared with industry averages, increasing gas availability on international markets and contributing to Italian and European energy security while generating concrete benefits for the local economy.
Phase 1 of Congo LNG, launched with the Tango FLNG liquefaction unit, reached start-up in December 2023, just over one year after project definition. Phase 2 start-up comes only 35 months after construction of the Nguya FLNG unit began, setting a new international industry benchmark in terms of execution speed and efficiency.
Eni has been present in the Republic of Congo since 1968. With equity production of approximately 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, expected to rise to 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, Eni is currently the country’s leading producer of associated and non-associated gas. The company supplies gas to the Congo Power Plant, which provides around 70% of the country’s electricity generation capacity, and contributes to strengthening the high-voltage transmission network.
Eni is also active in initiatives supporting the energy transition, such as the agri-feedstock project, which integrates the country into the biofuels value chain and represents a development lever for the agro-industrial sector, as well as programs aimed at improving local communities’ access to energy, water, healthcare and economic diversification.
Source: energy-pedia.com