Eni SpA introduced the first hydrocarbons from the Coral South Field located offshore Mozambique to the Coral Sul FLNG vessel, positioning Mozambique to officially become an LNG-producing country.

As upstream delegated operator of Area 4 on behalf of its partners Exxon Mobil Corp., CNPC, GALP, KOGAS and ENH, the Italian oil and gas company revealed on June 18 that the Coral South Project had safely achieved the introduction of hydrocarbons to the Coral Sul FLNG from the Coral South reservoir.

Following the introduction of gas in the plant, Coral Sul FLNG will now be ready to achieve its first LNG cargo in the second half of 2022, adding Mozambique to the LNG-producing countries.

Coral Sul FLNG is the first floating LNG facility ever deployed in the deep waters of the African continent. The facility has a gas liquefaction capacity of 3.4 million tons per year (mtpa) and will put in production 450 Bcm of gas from the giant Coral reservoir, located in the offshore Rovuma Basin.

The Coral South project achieved final investment decision in 2017. FLNG fabrication and construction activities started in September 2018 and were completed in 38 months as planned, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with an FLNG sail away, from South Korea to Mozambique, on November 2021.

The FLNG arrived at the final operating site offshore Mozambique in early January. The mooring and connection to six underwater production wells were finalized in March and May, respectively.

Eni has been present in Mozambique since 2006, according to the company release.

Between 2011 and 2014, Eni discovered supergiant natural gas resources in the Rovuma basin, in the Coral, Mamba Complex and Agulha reservoirs, holding an estimated 2,400 Bcm of gas in place. Eni also holds exploration rights to offshore blocks A5-B, Z5-C and Z5-D in the Angoche and Zambezi basins.

Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture SpA (MRV), an incorporated joint venture owned by Eni, Exxon Mobil and CNPC, which holds a 70% interest in the Area 4 exploration and production concession contract. In addition to MRV, Galp, KOGAS and ENH (Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos EP) each hold a 10% interest in Area 4.

Eni is the offshore delegated operator and is leading the construction and operation of the floating liquefied natural gas facility on behalf of MRV.

The Coral Sul FLNG has been implemented with an energy optimization approach, integrated in the design via a systematic analysis of energy efficiency improvement, Eni said. These include among others, zero flaring during normal operations, use of thermal efficient aero-derivative gas turbines for refrigerant compressors and generation, use of Dry Low NOx technology to reduce NOx emission and waste heat recovery systems for the process.

The facility is located at a water-depth of around 2,000 m and is kept in position by means of 20 mooring lines that totally weight 9,000 tons.

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