Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEni and partners approve Coral North LNG platform in Mozambique, doubling LNG output and boosting economic benefits.
MAPUTO (Reuters) -Italian energy group Eni and its partners signed off on Thursday on a project to build a second floating liquefied natural gas platform, Coral North, offshore Mozambique that will make the country a top African LNG producer.
A signing ceremony, attended by Mozambique President Daniel Chapo and Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi, took place in an upmarket hotel in the Southern African country's capital Maputo.
The new unit, a replica of sister platform Coral South in the Rovuma Basin which started exports to Europe in 2022, will double Mozambique's LNG output to over 7 million tons per annum once operational.
"Coral North will more than double the benefits for the country - it is projected to generate $23 billion in tax revenues, create even more jobs, increase national suppliers and assign $3 billion in contracts to local companies," Descalzi said at the ceremony.
The project is scheduled to start operations in 2028, he said.
Located far out into the ocean, Coral North's go-ahead has avoided the problems faced by TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil, whose LNG terminals being developed onshore have been delayed for years because of security concerns linked to an Islamist insurgency.
While TotalEnergies is expected to lift force majeure soon on its $20 billion plant, and ExxonMobil is expected to take its own final investment decision next year, ongoing attacks in the restive north remain a concern despite the deployment of Rwandan military forces to help fight the insurgency.
Mozambique's 2031 Eurobond has gained this week on the expectation that Eni would agree to proceed with Coral North and that TotalEnergies would also soon resume construction of its project, said Samir Gadio, head of Africa strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.
Coral North will be built by a joint venture between operator Eni (50%), China National Petroleum Company (20%), Korea Gas Corporation (10%), Mozambican state-owned national oil company ENH (10%) and ADNOC's subsidiary XRG (10%).
(Reporting by Custodio Cossa and Manuel Mucari; Writing by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Alexander Winning and Susan Fenton)
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state for ease of storage and transport, typically at temperatures around -162°C.
A joint venture is a business arrangement where two or more parties agree to pool their resources for a specific project or business activity, sharing profits and losses.
A signing ceremony is an event where parties formally sign a contract or agreement, often attended by stakeholders and media to mark the occasion.
An investment decision is the process of deciding where to allocate funds to generate returns, considering factors like risk, potential returns, and market conditions.
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