Eni SpA has garnered substantial interest for its upcoming floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, even as international lenders face increasing pressure to reduce investments in fossil fuels.
Luca Vignati, Eni’s director of upstream operations, revealed in a recent interview that the new project is expected to cost around the same as the $7 billion Coral South plant, which was inaugurated in 2022.
Vignati indicated that investment decisions for the new LNG plant could be finalized as early as this quarter.
Although financing oil projects has become more difficult due to the global shift toward decarbonization, natural gas remains in demand as a cleaner alternative, viewed as integral to the energy transition. Among the potential financiers is the US Export-Import Bank, which has already listed the project as pending.
“International financing institutions and first-round investors have shown more interest than we anticipated,” Vignati stated during an event in Cape Town.
He noted that Coral South’s reliable performance since its launch has strengthened the confidence of banks considering the Coral North project.
The upcoming floating LNG plant will mirror Coral South but will have a slight production advantage, producing 3.6 million tons of LNG per year—an increase of 5%.
The project is situated in Mozambique’s Area 4 concession, with partners including Exxon Mobil Corp., China National Petroleum Corp., Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., Korea Gas Corp., and Mozambique’s Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos E.P.
Approval from the Mozambican government is expected within the coming weeks. Eni has already taken steps to expedite the project timeline by reserving space at a shipbuilding yard and placing orders for long-lead items.
While Eni’s Coral North project has attracted significant interest, TotalEnergies SE’s $20 billion onshore LNG facility in Mozambique, which was paused in 2021 due to an insurgency, is still awaiting reaffirmed commitments from its funders.
TotalEnergies’ CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, recently stated that the company remains committed to moving forward once the security situation improves.
