Eni approves Coral FLNG investment plan

Eni of Italy has approved the investment plan for the first phase of the development of the Coral gas discovery in the Rovuma Basin, offshore Mozambique. 

The project involves the construction of 6 subsea wells connected to a floating LNG production facility, with a liquefaction capacity of over 3.3 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, equivalent to approximately 5 billion cubic meters.

Mozambique authorities approved the project development plan in February.

The Coral field, discovered in May 2012 and outlined in 2013, is entirely located within Area 4 and contains about 450 billion cubic meters (16 TCF) of gas in place.

In October, Eni and its Area 4 partners signed an agreement with BP for the sale of the entire volumes of LNG produced by the FNLG Coral South, for a period of over twenty years. It was the first such agreement signed in Mozambique and a step towards developing the 2400 billion cubic meters (85 Tcf) of gas discovered in Area 4.

The approval of the investment plan brings the project closer to reaching the final investment decision, which will come into effect once all Area 4 partners have approved it and the project financing, which is currently being finalized, has been underwritten, Eni said in a statement on Friday.

Eni is the operator of Area 4 with a 50 percent indirect interest owned through Eni East Africa, which holds a 70 percent stake in Area 4.

The other concessionaires are Galp Energia, Kogas and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), each owning a 10 percent stake. CNPC owns a 20 percent indirect interest in Area 4 through Eni East Africa.