The Republic of Congo’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) project has officially been inaugurated by H.E. Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, and Italian-based global oil and gas major Eni, with the laying of the foundation stone. The project represents the first of its kind in the country and is being constructed as part of the wider Marine XII block development.
Congo LNG includes the installation of two floating LNG (FLNG) plants which will process gas from the Nenè and Litchendjili fields – already in production – as well as any new fields that come online.
The FLNG vessels will have a production capacity of 0.6 million tons per annum (mtpa) and 2.4 mtpa, and will begin production by 2023 and 2025, respectively.
The total production capacity for Congo LNG is 3 mtpa, with the project expected to scale up local energy security through resource supply for power generation needs while fueling energy exports and gross domestic product growth for Congo.
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, commented that, “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. This outcome speaks to 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 decarbonization.”
