Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi have laid a foundation stone for Congo LNG.
The project aims to reach 3 million tonnes per year of liquefaction capacity, via two floating LNG (FLNG) facilities. It will capture gas from the Marine XII licence, with some going to domestic power use, while the rest is exported.
The first FLNG unit is under conversion and it will start producing in 2023. It will have capacity of 0.6mn tpy. A Chinese yard is building the second unit, which should start up in 2025. This will have 2.4mn tpy of capacity.
Eni said it would install the FLNG units on the Nenè and Litchendjili fields, which are already producing. It can also tie in production from yet-to-be developed fields.
“Today we celebrate the launch of one of Eni’s main projects, made possible by the collaboration with the Republic of the Congo and destined to significantly contribute to both Italy and Europe’s energy security and industrial competitiveness,” said Descalzi.
The Eni CEO said the project marked the importance of “long-term collaboration with our African partners at a time when important strategic choices need to be made in regards to future diversification of supply routes and European energy mixes, in the direction of energy accessibility and availability and progressive decarbonisation.”
Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) and Lukoil are also partners in the Marine XII licence.
Local needs
Eni is already producing gas for local consumption, the company said. It accounts for 70% of national electricity production through the Centrale Electrique du Congo (CEC).
Congolese Oil Minister Bruno Jean Richard Itoua signed a security agreement for Marine XII on March 20. The government approved a fiscal agreement on LNG production for the licence in December 2021.
Eni Congo struck a production solutions contract with Expro Group in January this year. The contract will see Expro carrying out design, construction, operations and maintenance at the fast-track onshore LNG pre-treatment facility (OPT).
The company said it would build the facility near the Litchendjili gas plant. This currently supplies gas to the CEC Pointe-Noire power plant. Expro said the facility would process around 80 million cubic feet per day of gas.
Source : Energy Voice