November 15, 2022 [NS Energy] – The Mozambican floating LNG project is expected to produce 450 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Coral gas field in the Rovuma Basin and liquefy 3.4 million metric tons per annum of the gas for transport

Eni, ExxonMobil, and other Area 4 partners have achieved the milestone of shipping the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the $8bn Coral South floating LNG (FLNG) project located offshore Mozambique.

The milestone follows the production of the first LNG volumes by the Coral South project in early October 2022 after the on-schedule start-up of the FLNG vessel, which is also called Coral Sul.

The Coral South FLNG project is anticipated to produce 450 billion cubic meters of natural gas drawn from the Coral gas field in the Rovuma Basin. The facility will liquefy 3.4 million metric tons per annum of gas for transport.

The project is also the first development in the Rovuma Basin to be brought into production. Located at a water depth of nearly 2,000m, the FLNG vessel produces through six subsea wells.

ExxonMobil LNG business head Peter Clarke said: “The Coral South project will bring significant long-term economic value to the people of Mozambique.

“Today’s first-cargo milestone is a testament to the hard work, continued investment and successful execution of our integrated consortium team. Mozambique is joining the ranks of global LNG producers and contributing to global LNG supplies at a time when the world needs it most.”

Eni is the operator of the Coral South project. The Italian firm is also the upstream delegated operator of the Area 4 consortium, which also includes ExxonMobil, CNPC, Kogas, Galp, and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH).

The FLNG project was sanctioned in 2017 and has been brought on stream within the initial budget and schedule in spite of the disturbances resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “The first shipment of LNG from Coral South project, and from Mozambique, is a new and significant step forward in Eni’s strategy to leverage gas as a source that can contribute in a significant way to Europe’s energy security, also through the increasing diversification of supplies, while also supporting a just and sustainable transition. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure timely valorisation of Mozambique’s vast gas resources.”