Natural gas enters the Rovuma Basin natural gas floating platform
The Mozambican Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy announced on Saturday 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 believed that the conditions will be in place for the first shipment of Mozambican LNG to occur in the second half of 2022.
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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 billion cubic metres.
The platform is 432 meters long and 66 meters 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 meters 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).
