Italian multinational energy group Eni and its partners have reached a final investment decision ( FID ) on the Coral North FLNG Project, located offshore in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. 

With a total investment of US$7.2 billion, the project will develop gas resources from the northern section of the Coral gas reservoir, Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, via a floating liquefied natural gas facility.    

Eni holds a 50% stake in the joint venture that will develop the project. Its partners include China National Petroleum Corporation ( CNPC, 20% ), Korea Gas Corporation ( Kogas, 10% ), Mozambique state energy company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos ( ENH, 10% ), and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ( Adnoc ) subsidiary XRG ( 10% ).

The signing took place in the capital Maputo in the presence of the President of Mozambique Daniel Francisco Chapo and Eni chief executive officer Claudio Descalzi.

Coral North is Eni’s second development in Mozambique and its second large-scale FLNG in ultra-deep waters in the world, with Coral South being the first. Leveraging the experience gained from Coral South, which has been in production since 2022, the Coral North project will offer competitive advantages in terms of schedule, costs, performance optimization, and risk mitigation. Eni and its partners aim to deliver the project on schedule in 2028.

With a liquefaction capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per annum ( mtpa ), Coral North FLNG and its predecessor Coral South will bring Mozambique’s overall LNG production to over 7mtpa, making the country the third-largest LNG producer in Africa and further reinforcing its role in the global energy market.

“With Coral North, we will contribute to supply the worldwide growing demand for LNG, doubling both Mozambique's contribution to global energy security, and the benefits for the country and its citizens in terms of economic and industrial growth,“ Descalzi says.

Eni has been present in Mozambique since 2006. Between 2011 and 2014, the company discovered vast natural gas resources in the Rovuma Basin, with around 2,400 billion cubic metres of gas in reserves.