ENI Sets Aside $3bn for Local Firms as Mozambique LNG Project Nears 2028

Italian energy company ENI has set aside up to $3 billion for Mozambican companies as it prepares to develop a new liquefied natural gas project off Cabo Delgado.

The allocation is part of the company's local content programme for Coral Norte, an LNG project in Area Four of the Rovuma Basin. ENI says the funds have been secured for local companies within the project's implementation schedule.

Fabrizio Russo, ENI's Director of Procurement in Mozambique, said the money would not only be used to award contracts. He said the company also wants more Mozambican businesses to enter the gas industry supply chain.

“This is the plan, and it is fully secured. This amount has been allocated for companies within the project's implementation schedule,” Russo told AIM.

Coral Norte has reached 70 per cent completion, with production planned for 2028. The project has a budget of more than $7.2 billion.

Coral Norte to add LNG capacity

The project is expected to produce about 3.5 million tonnes of LNG each year and 4,300 barrels of condensate per day.

Condensate is a liquid hydrocarbon produced alongside natural gas. Coral Norte is expected to operate for about 30 years.

The project is being developed after ENI began LNG production in Mozambique through Coral Sul in 2022.

Coral Sul is a floating LNG platform anchored 50 kilometres from the coast of Palma district in Cabo Delgado. It is about 200 kilometres north of Pemba, the provincial capital.

The project was formally inaugurated on 23 November 2022 by then President Filipe Nyusi.

ENI and its partners are now waiting for the Final Investment Decision, known as FID, for Coral Norte.

Russo said Coral Sul showed that gas production could be carried out using a floating facility in deep water, despite doubts at the beginning over weather and ocean conditions.

He said Coral Norte would have greater production capacity and more advanced technology than the first platform.

“With the new platform, Mozambique is expected to boost its LNG production and export capacity, rising from approximately 3.5 percent to seven percent of global LNG output,” Russo said.

ENI expects Coral Norte and other projects to help Mozambique become a leading LNG producer and exporter in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Local firms prepare for gas supply chain

The $3 billion allocation is also tied to ENI's approach to finding Mozambican suppliers.

Russo said the company uses one-on-one meetings to allow businesses to present their skills and services. ENI then explains what it needs and looks for areas where the companies can work with the project.

The approach gives individual firms an opportunity to present their capabilities directly to the energy company.

Mozambique's local content legislation was published in 2026. ENI said its existing approach was largely in line with the new legal framework.

One provision requires at least 20 per cent participation by a Mozambican company or citizen for an entity to qualify for certain local content benefits.

The local content programme comes as ENI prepares for further LNG development. Coral Norte is under construction, and a third floating LNG unit is also in the pipeline.

ENI is already operating Coral Sul, making LNG in Mozambique since 2022. The new project is intended to increase production and export capacity from the country's offshore gas resources.

The planned $3 billion allocation is tied to the work needed to develop Coral Norte and its supply chain. The project is expected to produce LNG from 2028.