Communication - Presse

First LNG tanker has arrived in Cabo Delgado

The tanker that will transport the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Rovuma basin is already docked in Mozambique’s territorial waters off Cabo Delgado province.

The large-draught vessel arrived in the country last Sunday, 16 October, and, it is believed, will load the gas within days.

READ: Mozambique: Two LNG tankers due to arrive in Pemba this week – report

According to daily newspaper ‘Notícias’, the Chairman of the National Petroleum Institute (INP), Nazário Bangalane, said that LNG extraction and production on the floating platform was on schedule.

Bangalane did not specify any dates for the end of the operation, but said that the government would share the information publicly when the export period arrived.

“The gas is being processed on the floating LNG platform, and the indication we have is that the work is proceeding normally,” the INP chairman said.

Meanwhile, a source from Italian oil company Eni, cited by Noticias, confirmed that the work was proceeding normally, but similarly did not specify dates for the start of gas exports. “We do not yet have a precise date for the start of exports, but, as we said previously, we are in the process. We cannot say when,” the Eni source said.

Operated by oil major Eni, the Coral Sul floating (FLNG) platform is projected to produce 3.4 million tonnes of gas per year. This will be the first project to start operations following the discovery of globally significant natural gas reserves in the Rovuma sedimentary basin in Cabo Delgado province between 2010 and 2012.

Besides the Coral Sul FLNG project, two more onshore natural gas liquefaction projects are planned for the Rovuma basin, but their implementation is still awaiting the decision of the oil companies, delayed due to safety conditions in the region.

Estimates indicate that, if these projects are implemented as planned, Mozambique could rank among the largest producers of natural gas in the world.

The gas from the Coral Sul FLNG project will be marketed exclusively through the British Petroleum company (BP) for a period of 20 years.

Link: https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-first-lng-tanker-has-arrived-in-cabo-delgado-226814/