Eni and its partners have started drilling and completing production wells for the Coral North floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin, Eni announced on 2 November. The campaign of up to six wells will take about ten months and uses the Saipem 12000 drillship, run by a joint venture of state oil company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) and Saipem: the first time a company with Mozambican participation takes a direct operating role in offshore drilling. The partners took the $7.2 billion investment decision in October 2025, and the National Petroleum Institute puts construction of the floating plant at 72%. Production from 2028 would double Mozambique’s LNG output to about seven million tonnes a year.
Sources
- Eni statement (via Eurasia Review): https://www.eurasiareview.com/02112026-eni-announces-beginning-of-drilling-campaign-for-coral-north-flng-project/
- AIM (Mozambique News Agency): https://aimnews.org/2026/11/02/enh-entra-na-perfuracao-offshore/
- O Económico: https://www.oeconomico.com/coral-norte-avanca-para-perfuracao-de-seis-pocos-com-sonda-ja-em-cabo-delgado-e-construcao-da-unidade-a-72/
- OE Digital: https://www.oedigital.com/news/543729-eni-advances-coral-north-drilling-eyes-third-mozambique-flng