The Italian energy giant already has two FLNG ventures in the country: Coral Sul, a 3.4 million tonnes per year facility now in operation, and Coral Norte, a 3.55 million tonnes per year project under development. But recent remarks from Guido Brusco, Eni’s top upstream executive, suggest the company isn’t ruling out a third. Mozambique’s vast gas reserves and the falling cost of newbuild FLNG vessels make the idea increasingly attractive.
Brusco noted that the capital cost of newbuild FLNG units has reached parity with—and in some cases dipped below—onshore liquefaction plants. This shift reflects how quickly the FLNG market has matured in just a few years. For example, proposed newbuild FLNG projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast now average about $1,054 per tonne, squarely within the $900–$1,100 per tonne range typical of modern onshore LNG facilities.
Conversions add another layer of competitiveness. Repurposing existing LNG carriers into FLNG units has proven far cheaper than building onshore plants. Projects like Golar LNG’s Cameroon FLNG and Southern Energy’s FLNG MK II have achieved capital expenditures as low as $500–$640 per tonne.
Timelines also favour FLNG. Newbuild units can be delivered in roughly three years, compared to the 4.5 years or more often required for onshore facilities. That speed is a significant advantage, even though inflation has pushed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) costs up by about 25% since 2018—a challenge shared by both offshore and onshore projects.
Taken together, these factors explain why Eni is keeping the door open for a third FLNG in Mozambique. After all, the economics are shifting, the technology is proven, and the country’s gas potential remains enormous.