Coral Norte will make Mozambique the third-largest LNG producer in Africa – Descalzi

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Coral Norte will make Mozambique the third-largest LNG producer in Africa – Descalzi

7:30 CAT | 03 Oct 2025

Photo: Luisa Nhantumbo/Lusa

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi assured on Thursday in Maputo that the Coral Norte floating liquefied natural gas platform will begin production in three years, positioning Mozambique as Africa’s third-largest LNG producer.

“We’re starting the calendar for 2028. This means we start today with the FID, and within three years, we’ll begin production. And that’s a commitment, not just talk. It’s not a dream, it’s a commitment with the President, in front of everyone,” said Claudio Descalzi during the signing of the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the second floating platform, Coral Norte, for US$7.2 billion.

The partners in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, off Cabo Delgado— Eni (50%), China National Petroleum Company (20%), Korea Gas Corporation (10%), Mozambican state-owned national oil company ENH (10%) and ADNOC’s subsidiary XRG (10%) —signed the FID for the new project yesterday afternoon in Maputo, in the presence of Mozambican President Daniel Chapo.

READ: Breaking: Eni takes final investment decision on second floating LNG unit offshore Mozambique

The chief executive of Eni, the operator of both the Coral Norte floating LNG project and its twin, Coral Sul, already in operation since 2022, guarantees that Coral Norte “will make Mozambique the third-largest LNG producer in Africa,” after Nigeria and Algeria, doubling the country’s current production (by Coral Sul alone) to seven million tonnes per year (mtpa).

According to Descalzi, Mozambique “is also positioning itself in the global energy transition.”

“Along this path, each of us is a long-term partner committed to the country’s growth and prosperity,” Descalzi assured, adding: “Coral Norte is the second large-scale floating LNG development located in ultra-deep waters worldwide. But we know exactly where the first one is—right here in Mozambique: Coral Sul.”

Coral Sul alone “has successfully delivered more than 120 LNG shipments since the first gas was delivered in 2022,” he pointed out.

“Thanks to its innovative design and consistent production performance, it was responsible for 50% of the country’s GDP growth in 2023, and in 2024 it will account for approximately 70% of GDP growth. It is expected to generate US$16 billion in tax revenue during its lifetime, awarding more than US$800 million in contracts to local companies, and employing more than 1,400 Mozambicans,” Descalzi emphasised, referring to the Coral Sul FLNG platform.

“Building on this solid foundation,” Descalzi said, Coral Norte, as “an improved replica of Coral Sul, will now further expand this benefit, proving once again that floating LNG is a fast, competitive, and reliable solution.”

“A few years ago—five, six years ago—everyone said this was impossible. Now we are already in the second development, something that everyone would have considered impossible from a technical standpoint,” he said.

READ: Mozambique: Eni to build 75 MW gas-fired power plant in Temane, “starting now” – President

The new Coral Norte FLNG project is expected to generate US$23 billion in tax revenue for Mozambique over its 30-year operation, doubling the number of jobs created by the first platform and providing a budget of US$3 billion in contracts for local companies.

The negotiations with the Mozambican government also contractually defined “the provision of natural gas to the domestic market in the proportion of 25% of the total gas to be produced” and 100% of the condensate for power generation, enabling the “development of industrialisation projects” in the country.

Mozambique has three approved development megaprojects to exploit the Rovuma Basin LNG reserves, ranked among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado. These include one from TotalEnergies (13 mtpa), which is in the process of being restarted after being suspended due to terrorist attacks in the region, and another from ExxonMobil (18 mtpa), which is awaiting a final investment decision—both on the Afungi Peninsula.

Source: Lusa