Johannesburg, South Africa — With over 100 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves, Mozambique has quickly emerged as one of the most attractive gas plays worldwide, with three large-scale project developments placing the country on a positive trajectory towards long-term economic growth.
While offshore gas projects alone provide key opportunities for energy access and job creation, Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) solutions currently being developed by French-based engineering and technology company Technip Energies are set to position the country as a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer and exporter.
Having emerged as a pioneer in the development of FLNG, providing an alternative to onshore facilities and alleviating the need for long-distance pipelines and extensive onshore infrastructure, Technip Energies has positioned itself as a key driver of Mozambique’s gas agenda through the deployment of FLNG solutions at the Eni-led Coral Sul project – located in Area 4 of the highly prospective Rovuma Basin, offshore Mozambique. In 2017, Technip was awarded a contract for the FLNG facility, with the company thereafter covering the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of the facility as well as risers, umbilicals, subsea flowlines and equipment.
Representing Mozambique’s inaugural offshore LNG project, Technip installed the Coral Sul FLNG facility approximately 80km off the coast of Mozambique. With a production capacity of 3.4 million tons of LNG per annum and with a design life of 25 years, the project is set to trigger newfound growth across the country’s energy sector and economy at large. Reaffirming Technip’s commitment to Mozambique’s gas, in early 2021, the Coral FLNG facility arrived in the country, first gas was introduced to the vessel in June 2022 and the first shipment of LNG left the country for Europe in November 2022, a testament to the company’s resilience despite the wave of challenges that impacted development.
While Mozambique has produced gas from the Pande and Temane onshore fields for a number of years, the Coral Sul project – of which LNG is produced predominantly for exports – enables new streams of revenue to be generated for the country, kickstarting economic growth while positioning Mozambique as an international LNG supplier at a time when global supply chains are particularly volatile.
Leveraging its strong expertise and experience, Technip applied its latest liquefaction technologies with an APCI DMR process and four LNG loading arms for side-by-side offloading operations supplied by the company itself, thus positioning the country as a pioneer in this industry while solidifying the company’s own footprint in the African gas market. With the project representing one of Africa’s first FLNG facilities, Technip has set a benchmark for other gas-rich countries across the continent, while emerging as the partner of choice for project developers eager to capitalize on Technip’s innovative FLNG solutions.
“For Africa, natural gas represents the fuel of the future, serving as both a clean and widely available resource as well as the solution to making energy poverty history by 2030. The continent’s gas future is bright and through the development of LNG, a new era of electrification and industrialization is in sight. In this scenario, Technip Energies represents a critical partner for African gas producers looking at deploying FLNG solutions. Having emerged as a pioneer in this field, the company continues to demonstrate its commitment to African gas. Projects such as the Coral Sul FLNG facility represent just the start of Africa’s FLNG journey and we look forward to seeing new projects driven by Technip Energies in Africa,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
All this and more will be further unpacked during this year’s edition of the African Energy Week (AEW) conference and exhibition – taking place from October 16-20 in Cape Town. Under a mandate of making energy poverty history by 2030, AEW is largely centered on the role natural gas plays in Africa’s energy mix and how the development of LNG will fast-track industrialization across the continent. Last year, service companies such as Technip Energies played a key part in LNG dialogue, and this year, this trend will only continue as new discoveries are made, projects kicked off and producers turn to FLNG as viable production solutions.
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