Eni has started the hull installation of the Coral Sul floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) treatment and liquefaction unit that will be moored offshore in Mozambique, the company announced in a statement on Monday.
Between 2011 and 2014, Eni discovered supergiant natural gas resources in the Coral, Mamba Complex and Agulha reservoirs in the country, holding an estimated 2,400 billion cubic meters of gas in place.
Eni's planned unit is part of the Coral South project, which will put in production 450 billion cubic meters of gas from the giant Coral reservoir.
According to the statement, the hull launch is expected in 2020, in line with the planned production startup of the Coral South Project in 2022.
'The Coral Sul FLNG facility will have a gas liquefaction capacity of 3.4 million tons per year when completed and will be the first FLNG vessel ever to be deployed in the deep waters of the African continent,' the company stated and added that the vessel, which will be 432 meters long and 66 meters wide and weigh about 220,000 tons, will be able to house up to 350 people in its eight-story accommodation module.
Additionally, the facility will be anchored at a water-depth of around 2,000 meters by means of 20 mooring lines that weigh a combined 9,000 tons.
Construction works on the Coral Sul FLNG started in 2018 and are ongoing in seven operational centers across the world. By the end of 2019, the overall progress of the project is expected to exceed 60% completion with the total man-hours worked shortly expected to reach 10 million.
'Drilling and completion activities for the six subsea wells that will feed the liquefaction unit will begin in September 2019,' the statement read.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr