The Coral-Sul FLNG ship, the first floating LNG facility ever to be deployed in the deep waters of the African continent, is ready to depart Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, in route to Mozambique.
The vessel is 432 m long and 66 m wide, weighs around 220,000 tons, and has the capacity to accommodate up to 350 people in its eight-story living quarters module. It will be moored at its operating site at the Coral South field in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin. Production startup is expected in the second half of 2022.
The FLNG treatment and liquefaction installation has a gas liquefaction capacity of 3.4 mtpa and will put in production 450 Bcm of gas from six subsea wells located in the giant Coral discovery.
Coral South project achieved final investment decision in 2017,only 36 months after the last appraisal well. FLNG fabrication and construction activities started in 2018and were completed on cost and on time, despite the pandemic.
“The Coral Sul FLNG is a world-class feat of engineering, construction know-how, and technology, suited to kick off the development of Mozambique’s world-class resources,” said Stefano Maione, director of development, operations, and energy efficiency at Eni. “The project fits integrally with and within Eni’s energy transition strategy, as we move toward a decarbonized energy future in which gas is playing an essential and transitional role.”
Partners in the Coral-Sul FLNG project have implemented an energy optimization approach, integrated in the design via a systematic analysis of energy efficiency improvements. These include zero flaring during normal operations, use of thermal efficient aeroderivative gas turbines for refrigerant compressors and power generation, use of dry low- NOx technology to reduce NOx emission and waste heat recovery systems for gas processing.
Once the FLNG facility is in place, the installation campaign will begin, including mooring and hookup operations at a water depth of around 2000 m by means of 20 mooring lines that weight 9,000 tons in total.
Eni operates Coral Sul on behalf of its partners ExxonMobil, CNPC, GALP, KOGAS, and ENH.
