Eni is a step closer to moving ahead with its 16 Tcf deepwater Coral discovery development offshore Mozambique following investment approval from its board of directors.

Eni’s board has approved the first phase of development, called the Coral South project, in the Rovuma Basin Area 4. Pending approval from the projects partners – Galp Energia, KOGAS and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) – a final investment decision will be made on the project.

Eni is understood to have already ordered a FLNG vessel from South Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), which is working in a consortium with France’s Technip and Japan’s JGC on the project.

The Coral South project will see six subsea wells connected to a floating LNG production facility (FLNG), with a liquefaction capacity of over 3.3 MTPA of LNG, equivalent to about 5 Bcm. Authorities in Mozambique already approved the project development plan in February.

The Coral field was discovered in May 2012 and appraised in 2013. It is estimated to contain about 450 Bcm (16 Tcf) of gas in place. In total, some 85 Tcf of gas has been discovered to date in Area 4.

Mozambique’s Area 4 is the world’s fifth largest natural gas discovery in the last 30 years, with more than 85 Tcf estimated natural gas resources in place. It covers 10,000sq km in the Rovuma Basin, about 50km off the coastline at Palma, more than 200km from the capital Maputo, and close to the Tanzanian border.

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 25.

Eni is the operator of Area 4 with a 50% indirect interest owned through Eni East Africa (EEA), which holds a 70% stake in Area 4. The other interest owners are Galp Energia, KOGAS and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, each owning a 10% stake. CNPC owns a 20% indirect interest in Area 4 through EEA.

Source: OE Digital Edition