Mozambique Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced that the Coral South project has begun pumping natural gas into its floating platform in Area Four of the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado, thus paving the way for the first export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) later this year.
The Coral South floating platform was built in a South Korean shipyard and towed to Mozambican waters in March 2022. Six undersea natural gas wells were connected to the platform in May. On board the platform the gas will be liquefied and then pumped into the vessels that will ship it to the consumer markets.
Cited in his Ministry’s statement, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, said that achieving this latest landmark puts Mozambique on the map of countries producing LNG.
“This will have a significant impact on revenue, and is a contribution to global energy security”, he added.
“It shows that the conditions established by the government for the development of this project have allowed it to be implemented within the deadlines”. Now that the gas is entering the floating platform, it is expected that the first shipment of Mozambican LNG will take place in the second half of 2022.
Work on building the platform began in the Korean shipyard in September 2018, and it was concluded, on schedule, in 38 months, allowing the platform to set off for Mozambique in November 2021.
The platform has the capacity to liquefy 3,4 million tonnes of natural gas a year. British Petroleum (BP) has signed a contract to purchase the entire production from the platform.
The gas comes from the Coral reservoir where there are estimated reserves of 450 billio cubic metres. The platform is 432 metres long and 66 metres wide.
It weighs around 220 000 tonnes and has the capacity to accommodate up to 350 people in its eight-story Living Quarter module. The platform is moored at a water depth of around 2 000 metres and is kept in position by means of 20 mooring lines that in total weigh 9 000 tonnes.
It is the first floating LNG facility ever deployed in Africa.
The operator of the Coral South project is the Italian energy company, ENI. It is at the head of a consortium which also includes the American oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, the Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC), the Portuguese company Galp, Kogas of South Korea, and Mozambique’s own National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH).
Meanwhile, Mozambican Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane has challenged the National Petroleum Institute (INP) to improve the inspection of the natural gas exploration and production projects currently underway.
With the discovery of huge gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado, together with the beginning of the production and sale of liquefied natural gas (LNG), from the Coral Sul floating platform, the country, the Prime Minister said, has become a relevant player in regional, continental, and world energy security.
The Prime Minister was speaking in Maputo during the ceremony to swear into office the new Chairperson of the INP, Nazario Balangane, the new general director of the National Mining Institute (INAMI), Elias Daudi, and the new deputy director of INAMI, Gracio Cune.
Maleiane urged Balangane to ensure that companies involved in the exploration of energy resources fully comply with the local content plans, especially regarding the creation of more jobs.