Eni’s 3.4 mtpa Coral Sul FLNG located offshore Mozambique has shipped its first cargo of liquefied natural gas, adding Mozambique to the LNG producing countries.
The Italian energy giant revealed this in a statement on Sunday.
“The project, sanctioned in 2017, comes on stream after just five years, in line with the initial budget and schedule, despite the disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic,” it said.
According to images posted by Eni, the 2019-built 173,400-cbm, British Sponsor, owned by Kmarin and chartered by BP, loaded the first cargo.
The final destination of the carrier was not available on Sunday, its AIS data provided by VesselsValue showed. The vessel would probably deliver the cargo to Europe.
BP will buy all of the LNG produced at the FLNG as part of a long-term deal.
In June, the FLNG received its first gas supplies from the Coral South reservoir offshore Mozambique.
Eni’s executives confirmed last month the start of LNG production on the FLNG.
The Italian firm discovered Coral back in May 2012 and it operates the Area 4 along its partners ExxonMobil, CNPC, GALP, Kogas, as well as ENH.
The unit which weighs about 220,000 tons left Samsung Heavy Industries’ Geoje yard in South Korea under tow on November 16 last year and arrived in Mozambique in early January.
Eni says Coral Sul is the first FLNG operating in ultra-deep waters, connected to an underwater system at a depth of around 2,000 meters.
With a length of 432 meters and width of 66 meters, it has the capacity to accommodate up to 350 people in its eight-story living quarter module.
European supplies
Europe has this year significantly increased imports of LNG as European countries look to boost energy security and slash reliance on pipeline gas supplies from Russia.
“The first shipment of LNG from Coral South project, and from Mozambique, is a new and significant step forward in Eni’s strategy to leverage gas as a source that can contribute in a significant way to Europe’s energy security, also through the increasing diversification of supplies, while also supporting a just and sustainable transition,” Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said in the statement.
“We will continue to work with our partners to ensure timely valorization of Mozambique’s vast gas resources,” he said.
Besides this unit, Eni is also working on a second floating LNG producer to install it offshore Mozambique.