Eni officially announced the departure of the floating liquefied natural gas unit Nguya FLNG, which is part of the second phase of the Congo LNG project. The farewell ceremony was held in Shanghai, the city where it was built by Wison New Energies.
What is the Congo LNG Project?
It is an energy project led by Eni to extract, liquefy and export natural gas from fields located in the Marine XII block, off the coast of the Republic of Congo. The project is being developed in several phases:
- Phase 1: The incorporation of Tango FLNG, a smaller unit that has been operational since December 2023, with a capacity of 0.6 MTPA (Million Tons Per Year). It has already exported 12 cargoes.
- Phase 2: The incorporation of Nguya FLNG. Expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
- The merger of the two units: When both are operational, the project will have a combined capacity of 3 MTPA, multiplying by five times the initial production.
Technical details of Nguya FLNG
The unit is basically a giant, floating industrial plant that extracts natural gas from the seabed and cools it to a liquid (LNG) for transport on LNG tankers. It will be 376 meters long and 60 meters wide and will be anchored offshore to process gas from multiple fields in the block. Marine XII.
The FLNG unit was built in a record time of only 33 months, with a design that reduces its carbon footprint. Instead of building everything from scratch, the company recycled and adapted an existing drilling rig (the Scarabeo 5) for one of its functions, saving costs, time and reducing environmental impact.
Participation of Wison and POSH
The construction of the FLNG unit was commissioned to the Chinese company Wison New Energies, while Singaporean firm POSH will be in charge of the maritime transport to its final mooring point in the Congo.
More than five decades of Eni in the Congo
The company has maintained an uninterrupted presence in the Republic of Congo for more than 55 years. In addition to leading the development of the country’s gas resources, the Italian energy company supplies gas to the Congo Power Plant, which is responsible for 70% of the country’s electricity generation.
The company also participates in social programs focused on access to energy, potable water, health and economic diversification for local communities.