Italian energy company ENI, holding a 50% stake in Mozambique’s Area 4 offshore gas resources, has celebrated the hull launch of the Coral North floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility in Geoje, South Korea.
The event was attended by Mozambique’s Minister of Natural Resources, Estevão Pale, and ENI’s chief operating officer for Global Natural Resources, Guido Brusco. Project partners include China National Petroleum Corporation, KOGAS, and XRG.
“Coral North will be the second state-of-the-art FLNG facility deployed in the Rovuma Basin, offshore Cabo Delgado, and will bring to production the northern part of the Coral gas reservoir,” said ENI.
Building on the experience of Coral South, which started production in 2022, Coral North incorporates enhanced efficiency and optimised performance designed to reduce costs and execution risks. The project remains on track for completion by 2028.
With a liquefaction capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), Coral North will double Mozambique’s LNG output to 7 mtpa, positioning the country as Africa’s third-largest LNG producer and exporter. This expansion is expected to significantly boost Mozambique’s economy through LNG revenues, job creation, local industry growth, and community investments.
ENI has been active in Mozambique since 2006, with major gas discoveries in the Rovuma Basin—including the Coral, Mamba Complex, and Agulha reservoirs—between 2011 and 2014, totaling approximately 2 400 billion cubic metres of gas in place. Coral South, the basin’s first producing project, has already delivered over 135 LNG cargoes to international markets.
The launch of Coral North marks another key milestone in Mozambique’s emergence as a major player in the global LNG market, reinforcing the country’s strategic energy role in Africa.
