The Italian Ambassador to Mozambique, Gianni Bardini, assures that the terrorism that has plagued Cabo Delgado province since 2017 does not affect the operations of the Italian oil company, ENI, which operates the Coral Sul FNLG project off the coast of Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique.

In a publication by AIMHowever, the Italian diplomat recognizes that the situation has a negative impact on other projects. For Gianni Bardini, the Coral Sul FLNG Project, implemented by the concessionaires in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, is off the terrorist trail "because it is more than 50 kilometers from the coast, but the same is no longer true for Saipem (the Italian company responsible for engineering the Mozambique LNG project), which is involved in the TotalEnergies project that has been interrupted for security reasons".

"Safety is not a problem for ENI because the project is offshore. The gas is being extracted and liquefied 60 kilometers from the coast via a floating platform. The gas is extracted at a depth of around 2,000 meters and so ENI has never been impacted by the insurgency," emphasized the Italian diplomat, stressing that terrorism only affects other Italian ventures involved with TotalEnergies' Mozambique LNG project.

However, Gianni Bardini recognizes that there has been significant progress in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado. He therefore hopes that the TotalEnergies project, budgeted at more than 20 billion dollars and interrupted for reasons of "force majeure", will resume as soon as possible to help accelerate the growth of the Mozambican economy.

Eni Rovuma Basin (ERB) is the delegated operator of the Coral Sul FNLG project. Area 4 is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV), a joint venture co-owned by ExxonMobil, Eni and CNPC (China), which holds a 70% participating interest in the concession contract. Galp, Kogas (South Korea) and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (Mozambique) each hold stakes of 10%.

Significant recoverable natural gas resources have been discovered in Area 4, including the Coral Sul reservoir, where a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) production unit called Coral Sul has been in operation since the last quarter of 2022.

(Photo DR)