- Financing for the Coral Norte FLNG natural gas project, valued at US$7.2 billion, will not generate public debt or fiscal risks for Mozambique, according to documents approved by the Government.
The financing structure for the Coral Norte FLNG natural gas project in Mozambique, valued at US$7.2 billion (€6.3 billion), will not entail public debt or fiscal risks for the Mozambican State, according to documents approved by the Government.
The financing structure approved by the Government on 4 November for the implementation of the project in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of Cabo Delgado province, defines the conditions under which resources will be mobilised from financiers. The project is led by Italian energy company Eni and includes the participation of Mozambique’s state-owned National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH).
The decree provides for up to 70% of the total investment to be secured through debt financing, with at least 30% coming from equity, based on a maximum financing amount of US$7.2 billion (€6.3 billion) for the implementation of the megaproject.
The decree establishing this structure expressly states that the associated financing arrangements will proceed “without entailing the assumption by the State of any debt, fiscal risk, financial burden or similar obligation arising from the project’s financing”.
It also establishes limits on the actions of financiers, seeking to preserve the State’s sovereign control over natural resources and the national regulatory framework. Financiers may not “exercise any rights or guarantees in a manner that affects the sovereignty of the State, its regulatory powers or ownership of natural resources”.
The Council of Ministers also approved the incorporation of ENH Coral Norte, SU, S.A., through ENH Rovuma Área 4, S.A., to ensure the participation of the national concessionaire in the project.
Coral Norte FLNG will be the second floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production facility in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin and is expected to have the capacity to produce 3.55 million tonnes per year, almost doubling the capacity currently provided by the Coral Sul FLNG project, which began operations in 2022.
Publication of the decree represents another step towards implementing the Final Investment Decision (FID), signed in Maputo on 2 October 2025 by the Area 4 partners, namely Eni, the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH), CNPC, Kogas and XRG, in the presence of Mozambican President Daniel Chapo.
On that occasion, Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said production was scheduled to begin in 2028.
“We are starting the timetable for 2028. This means that we begin today with the FID and, within three years, we will start production. And this is a commitment, it is not just talk. It is not a dream, it is a commitment,” the executive said at the time.
According to Claudio Descalzi, the new facility will enable Mozambique to become Africa’s third-largest LNG producer, behind only Nigeria and Algeria, increasing national production to approximately seven million tonnes per year.
Eni maintains that Coral Norte will significantly expand the economic benefits already generated by the Coral Sul project and strengthen Mozambique’s position in the international liquefied natural gas market.
The agreements concluded with the Mozambican State also provide for the supply to the domestic market of natural gas equivalent to 25% of the project’s total production, as well as the delivery of 100% of the condensate produced for power generation and industrial development.
Mozambique currently has three major projects approved to monetise its vast natural gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin, which are ranked among the largest in the world. In addition to the Coral Sul and Coral Norte projects, there is the development led by TotalEnergies on the Afungi peninsula, which is being restarted after several years of suspension due to armed attacks in Cabo Delgado, and the ExxonMobil project, whose final investment decision remains pending.
