The Republic of the Congo and Italian energy major and liquefied natural gas projectdeveloper Eni have witnessed the sail away from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates of two vessels that will comprise the African nation’s first floating LNG production venture.
The two vessels left Dubai at a ceremony attended by Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of the Congo, Maixent Raoul Ominga, Managing Director of state energy company Societe National des Petroles du Congo (SNPC) and Guido Brusco, Chief Operating Officer for Natural Resources for FLNG developer Eni.
Eni said that the “Tango” FLNG vessel that formerly operated in Argentina is now on its way to the West Coast of Africa along with the “Excalibur” floating storage unit (FSU).
“The milestone aligns with the timeline of the Congo LNG project, whose first phase will start-up in December 2023,” said Eni.
FLNG surge
When Congo FLNG starts it will be the third project operating in Africa after Cameroon FLNG, Mozambique FLNG and with other ventures being developed in nations like Nigeria.
Two more FLNG facilities are being developed in joint projects for Senegal and Mauritania in West Africa and involving UK major BP and Dallas, Texas-based Kosmos Energy.
The “Tango” FLNG production hull has a liquefaction capacity of around 1 billion cubic metres per annum of gas.
It will be moored about three kilometres offshore along with the “Excalibur” FSU upon their arrival in Congo territorial waters.
“The Congo LNG project leverages Marine XII natural gas resources and existing production facilities in a new, phased approach that will be allowed to reach approximately 4.5 Bcm a year of gas liquefaction capacity at plateau, as well as zero routine gas flaring,” Eni explained.
The Milan-based company added that a second FLNG vessel with a capacity of about 3.5 Bcm of gas is under construction and will be deployed in 2025.
“The project will help the Republic of the Congo meet its energy needs while seizing the opportunity to exploit surplus gas through LNG production, allowing the country to join the group of global exporters of LNG in record time,” stated Eni.
“According to the agreements recently signed, all LNG produced will be marketed by Eni,” the company added.
