Mozambique: Government expects to collect $23B from new gas platform

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Mozambique: Government expects to collect $23B from new gas platform

2:19 CAT | 11 Apr 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only.[ File photo: Eni]

Mozambique expects to earn US$23 billion (€20.1 billion) over 30 years from the Coral Norte project, Eni’s second platform for the production of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the Rovuma basin.

“In accordance with the development plan approved over the next 25 years, therefore 30 years that are part of them for the construction and assembly of this system, whose implementation will last 25 years, (…) the Government will raise US$23 billion in revenue, taxes and other contributions,” government spokesman Inocêncio Impissa said this Friday.

In his weekly statements to journalists in Maputo, Impissa added that the project approved this week by the government “also foresees the provision of natural gas to the domestic market in the proportion of 25% of the total gas to be produced, in accordance with national legislation, and 100% of condensate for energy generation”, allowing the “development of industrialisation projects in Mozambique”.

“The project will also generate 1,400 jobs for Mozambicans, with the implementation of a succession plan to increase the qualifications and greater availability of Mozambican labour in the oil and gas sector,” he added.

The Mozambican government approved on Tuesday an investment of €6.6 billion for the Coral Norte LNG project, with a production forecast of 3.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) and start-up in 2028.

“The plan constitutes the second phase of development of the Coral Norte field, FLNG, and consists of a floating natural gas liquefaction infrastructure with a capacity of 3.55 million tonnes per year and six production wells, valued at around US$7.2 billion with production expected to start in the second quarter of 2028,” Impissa announced.

READ: Mozambique: State approves Eni’s Coral Norte FLNG $7.2 B investment

The Minister was speaking to journalists on Tuesday at the end of the weekly cabinet meeting, in which the decree “approving the development plan for the Coral Norte project” was considered and approved, for the development and production of 3.5 mtpa of LNG, for 30 years, in area 4, of the Italian oil company Eni, in the offshore Rovuma basin.

The CEO of the oil company Eni, Cláudio Descalzi, on January 16 assured the Mozambican president, Daniel Chapo, that he planned to expand the operation of the LNG project in the Rovuma basin, “projecting Mozambique into the global panorama” of natural gas.

A source from the oil company Eni, concessionaire of Area 4 of Rovuma, told Lusa in October 2023 that it was discussing with the government the development of a second floating platform, a copy of the first (Coral Sul) and called Coral Norte, to increase gas extraction.

“Eni has finalized the Development Plan, which is currently under discussion with partners and the Government of Mozambique for final approval. At the same time, Eni is moving forward with acquisition processes, environmental impact studies, etc., including contracts associated with drilling,” said an official source from the Italian oil company in response to questions from Lusa.

This plan involves the acquisition of a second floating platform FNLG for the Coral Norte area, identical to the one that has been operating in gas extraction since mid-2022 in the Coral Sul area.

A study by the consultancy firm Deloitte concluded in 2024 that Mozambique’s LNG reserves – which currently have projects underway or under study by multinational oil companies such as TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Eni – represent potential revenues of US$100 billion (€96.2 billion), highlighting the country’s international importance in the energy transition.

“The country’s vast gas reserves could make Mozambique one of the world’s ten largest producers, responsible for 20% of Africa’s production by 2040,” the report said.

Source: Lusa