Maputo, Jan. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - The CEO of the Italian oil company Eni, Cláudio Descalzi, assured Mozambican president Daniel Chapo that he plans to expand operations at the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in the Rovuma basin, "projecting Mozambique onto the global LNG scene".
In a letter of congratulations to the election of Daniel Chapo as the new president, who was sworn into office on Wednesday, the leader of the Italian oil company assumes Eni's "commitment to further strengthen collaboration".
"Projecting Mozambique onto the global LNG scene and extending our strategic partnership through the implementation of the Coral Norte FLNG project in the Rovuma Basin. Be assured that our goal is to support Mozambique's long-term development strategy through local content initiatives and accelerating the country's energy transition with our vegetable oil initiative and forestry projects," reads the letter, to which Lusa had access on Thursday.
A source from oil company Eni, the concessionaire for Rovuma Area 4, told Lusa in October 2023 that it was already discussing with the government the development of a second floating platform, a copy of the first (Coral South) and called Coral North, to increase gas extraction.
"Eni has finalised the development plan, which is currently under discussion with the partners and the Government of Mozambique for final approval. At the same time, Eni is moving forward with acquisition processes, environmental impact studies, etc., including contracts associated with drilling," said an official source from the Italian oil company, questioned by Lusa.
This plan involves the acquisition of a second FNLG floating platform for the North Coral area, identical to the one that has been operating to extract gas since mid-2022 in the South Coral area.
In his inauguration speech on Wednesday, Daniel Chapo announced the creation of a Mozambique Development Bank, financed with natural gas resources, among a wide range of measures to revitalise the economy and support the population.
"We are going to create the Mozambique Development Bank to develop infrastructure, finance and better drive strategic projects for the progress of our country. With the resources generated by the gas assets, we will capitalise this bank and immediately invest in projects that transform the lives of Mozambicans," said the president.
A study by consultancy firm Deloitte concluded in 2024 that Mozambique's LNG reserves - which currently have projects underway or being studied by oil multinationals such as TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Eni - represent potential revenues of US$100 billion (€96.2 billion), highlighting the country's international importance in the energy transition.
"The country's vast gas reserves could make Mozambique one of the world's top ten producers, responsible for 20% of Africa's production by 2040," says the report.
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