Coral Sul loads first LNG cargo offshore Mozambique

Eni SPA, operator of the Coral South project offshore Mozambique, has loaded the 3.4-million tonne/year (tpy) Coral Sul floating LNG (FLNG) plant’s first cargo. bp Shipping Ltd.’s 174,000-cu m British Sponsor LNG carrier picked up the LNG and is enroute to the Suez Canal for likely delivery to Europe.  

bp has a 20-year agreement to purchase 100% of Coral South’s output. Eni introduced feed gas to Coral Sul in June 2022 (OGJ Online, June 20, 2022). The FLNG plant is fed by natural gas from ultradeepwater Coral field, Area 4, Rovuma basin. Eni estimates Coral’s reserves at 16 tcf.

The start of shipments from Coral South will add supply to a global natural gas market expected to remain tight in the medium term. Last month, the 24th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) predicted gas market tightness will start easing only after 2025 when additional new projects start coming online (OGJ Online, Oct. 27, 2022). GECF also said that geopolitical tensions had exacerbated the supply-demand imbalance, with Europe becoming the preferred destination for LNG cargoes in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture SPA, an incorporated joint venture owned by Eni, ExxonMobil Corp., and China National Petroleum Corp., which holds a 70% interest in the Area 4 exploration and production concession. Other shareholders in Area 4 are Galp Energia SGPS SA, Korea Gas Corp. and Mozambique-state Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos EP, each with 10%. Eni is the delegated operator of both Coral South and all upstream activities in Area 4.