Offshore staff
MAPUTO, Mozambique – Eni and its partners have sanctioned Coral South FLNG, Mozambique’s first deepwater gas field development.
At a ceremony in Maputo, the various parties, in the presence of the country’s president, signed all main drilling, construction, and installation contracts for the production facilities, and agreements with the government concerning the regulatory framework and financing for the project.
The Coral field, discovered in May 2012 in Area 4 in the Rovuma basin, contains an estimated 16 tcf in place: the final exploration well in the concession was drilled three years ago.
Eni has awarded the TJS consortium ofTechnipFMC, JGC Corp. and Samsung Heavy Industries the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and start-up contract for the FLNG facility, its associated risers and subsea flowlines system, and installation of the umbilicals and subsea equipment.
The facility will be designed to produce nearly 3.4 MM t/yr of LNG, and will be moored in 2,000 m (6,562 ft) of water in Area 4.
Around 60% of the cost of the facility will come from Project Finance, the first instance of such an arrangement for a liquefaction floater, Eni claims. Fifteen international banks have subscribed, backed by five export credit agencies.
Saipem’s drillship Saipem 12000 will drill the development wells over a 15-month period, starting in mid-2019. However, the contact includes options up to a maximum of 45 months.
Last October, the Area 4 partners agreed to contract the entire LNG volumes produced over the first 20 years from Coral South toBP.
Eni operates the concession via its participation in Eni East Africa (EEA), which has a 70% interest: the other EEA partner at present is China’sCNPC, although in March, Eni agreed to sell 50% of its shares in EEA to ExxonMobil. The transaction remains subject to clearance from Mozambican and other regulatory authorities.
Galp, Koga, and Mozambique’s Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos each hold 30% stakes in Area 4.
06/02/2017
