SHI launches hull for Eni’s Coral North FLNG project in Mozambique

Italian integrated energy group Eni (BIT: ENI, NYSE: E) and its partners on January 16 announced the launch of its Coral North floating LNG (FLNG) hull at Samsung Heavy Industries’ (KRX: 010140) Geoje Island shipyard in South Korea.

The milestone marks a key step in the development of the Coral North FLNG unit, which will be deployed offshore Mozambique to monetise gas resources from the Rovuma Basin, one of Africa’s largest gas discoveries.

The vessel is designed to process and liquefy natural gas directly at sea, eliminating the need for onshore processing infrastructure. Once completed, Coral North will complement the existing Coral South FLNG, which began LNG production in 2022 and exports cargoes globally.

The launching ceremony was attended by the Minister of Natural Resources of Mozambique, Estevão Pale; Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco; and representatives of Eni’s joint venture partners – China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Mozambique’s state-owned hydrocarbons company ENH, South Korea’s state-controlled gas utility KOGAS (KRX: 036460), and UAE-based ADNOC-backed investment company XRG.

The launch was on schedule, Eni said in a press statement.

Eni is the operator of the deepwater Coral North project in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, offshore Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. The project remains on track for completion in 2028.

Coral North will be the second FLNG facility deployed by Eni in the Rovuma Basin and will develop gas reserves from the northern section of the Coral reservoir. The vessel is largely identical in design to the earlier Coral South unit, which started production in the southern part of the Coral reservoir in 2022.

The Coral North FLNG unit measures 432 metres in length and 66 metres in width and has a nameplate liquefaction capacity of 3.6mn tonnes per year (tpy). According to Eni’s statement, the Coral North facility is designed to improve efficiency and reduce project costs and execution risks, drawing on the knowledge gained since Coral South began production.

Coral North will double Mozambique’s total LNG output to 7mn tpy, positioning the country as Africa’s third-largest LNG producer and exporter and strengthening its role as a key player in the global energy market.

“Coral North is expected to more than double economic impact for Mozambique, including revenues from LNG, a boost to local industry, and the creation of new jobs. Coral North will also expand investments in local development initiatives,” Eni said in the statement.

Eni has operated in Mozambique since 2006. From 2011 to 2014, the company identified large natural gas accumulations in the Rovuma Basin, including the Coral, Mamba Complex and Agulha reservoirs, estimated to hold about 2,400bn cubic metres (bcm) of gas. Coral South, the basin’s first producing development, has already supplied the market with more than 135 LNG cargoes.