Project highlight: Congo LNG

Republic of Congo

The USD 5-billion Congo LNG project is located off the coast of Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo. It is expected to reach a capacity of 3 million tonnes per year (tpy). First gas was introduced to the project’s first FLNG vessel, Tango, in December 2023 and the inaugural shipment from the facility was announced in late February 2024.

SPECIFICATIONS: The project is being developed in two phases. Phase one involves the Tango FLNG vessel, operating alongside the Excalibur FSU vessel with a split mooring configuration. Tango has a liquefaction capacity of 1 bcm (35.3 bcf) per year and can ship 600,000 tpy. Phase two will introduce a second LNG facility with a capacity of 2.4 million tpy.

KEY PLAYERS: Eni operates the Marine XII licence with a 65% stake, working alongside partners Lukoil (25%) and SNPC (10%). LNG volumes will be marketed by Eni.

EARLY STAGES: The Congo LNG project was launched in October 2013 with an MoU signed between the government and NewAge – at the time a partner in the Marine XII block. NewAge sold its stake in Marine XII to Lukoil in 2019, and Eni took the helm of the project, signing agreements with the government on liquefaction technology, logistics, financing and marketing of LNG.

TIMELINE: In August 2022, Eni announced it had acquired Export LNG, the owner of the Tango vessel, from Belgian maritime services provider Exmar. Eni took a final investment decision on the project in December 2022. Tango and Excalibur sailed from the Drydocks World yard in Dubai to the Congolese offshore in October 2023, after refurbishments were undertaken by Exmar. In February 2024, the first cargo was loaded for shipping. The second LNG facility was under construction as of Q1 2024 and is expected to come on line by the end of 2025.

MARKET OUTLOOK: Congo’s LNG debut came weeks after Shell forecasted a 50% rise in global LNG demand by 2040, driven by growing populations and economies in Asia and the trend of switching from coal to gas-fired power. Europe’s concerns with energy security in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to boost demand in the short term. Analysts including the IEA, however, have predicted that global gas demand could peak by 2030, raising fears of a supply glut. Meanwhile, competition for new offtake deals will be robust, however, with Qatar expanding its LNG output capacity by 65 million tpy.

BENEFITS: The project is expected to bring in new revenues for the Republic of Congo, as well as diversifying and growing its economy by creating a full gas value chain in-country. The project will also ensure the monetisation of the country’s associated gas in line with the zero-flaring policy it introduced in 2007 and reaffirmed in its 2016 hydrocarbons code and by joining the World Bank’s Zero Flaring Initiative in 2012.

For more on Congo’s pivot to gas, read our latest interview with Maixent Raoul Ominga, director-general of SNPC.

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