Maputo, May 18, 2026 (Lusa) - Italian oil company Eni told Lusa on Monday it was assessing the possibility of moving forward with a third floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform to exploit liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Rovuma basin in northern Mozambique.
An Eni source told Lusa that the basin, where the company operates the Coral Sul LNG production platform and expects to start a second, Coral Norte, in 2028, "has significant natural gas reserves, allowing the implementation of ongoing projects and creating opportunities for new developments."
"In this context, Eni is currently assessing the possibility of moving forward with a third project based on FLNG technology, which the Coral Sul project successfully demonstrated," the company said.
Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said on 2 October in Maputo that Coral Norte LNG production would start in less than three years, making the country the third-largest producer in Africa.
"We started the timeline for 2028. This means we started today [2 October] with the FID (final investment decision) and, within three years, we will start production," Descalzi said during the signing of the FID for the second floating platform, Coral Norte, worth $7.2 billion (€6.2 billion).
The Area 4 partners in the Rovuma basin off Cabo Delgado – Eni, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH, Mozambique's state hydrocarbon company), CNPC, Kogas and XRG – signed the FID for the new project that day in the presence of Mozambique's president, Daniel Chapo.
Eni CEO said it "will make Mozambique the third-largest LNG producer in Africa," after Nigeria and Algeria, doubling the country's current production from Coral Sul alone to 7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
Descalzi said 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," he said, adding: "Coral Norte is the second large-scale floating LNG development located in ultra-deep waters globally. But we know exactly where the first one is, right here in Mozambique: Coral Sul."
He said that Coral Sul "had successfully delivered more than 120 LNG cargoes since first gas in 2022" until then.
"Thanks to its innovative design and consistent production performance, it accounted for 50% of the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth in 2023, and in 2024 it represents around 70% of GDP growth. And we expect it to generate $16 billion (€13.7 billion) in tax revenue during its lifetime, awarding more than $800 million (€683 million) in contracts to local companies and employing more than 1,400 Mozambicans," Descalzi said of the operating platform.
He said that, "building on this solid foundation," 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 or six, everyone said this was impossible. Now we are on the second development, something everyone considered impossible from a technical point of view," he said.
The second project should generate $23 billion (€20.1 billion) in tax revenue for Mozambique over the 30 years of operation, doubling the jobs of the first platform.
Mozambique has approved three development megaprojects to exploit the LNG reserves of the Rovuma basin, which rank among the largest in the world.
These include a project by TotalEnergies (13 mtpa), which has resumed following suspension due to terrorist attacks in the region, and another by ExxonMobil (18 mtpa), awaiting a final investment decision, located on the Afungi peninsula.
PVJ/LYT // AYLS
Lusa
