Congo enters LNG ring with first-ever cargo

The Republic of Congo is celebrating its inaugural shipment of LNG, with key partner Eni announcing the milestone on Tuesday.

The cargo from the 600,000-tpy Tango FLNG vessel will sail to Italy’s Piombino’s regasification facility in the coming days.

Congo’s LNG debut comes 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.

The start-up of the country’s LNG production was celebrated in a ceremony attended by Congolese President Denis Sassou-N’Guesso, Eni chairman Giuseppe Zafarana and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.

Descalzi highlighted that the project will bring new revenues to Congo while “contributing to Europe’s energy security.”

The Congo LNG project, located off Pointe Noire and fed by gas from the Marine XII permit, is expected to achieve a plateau gas liquefaction capacity of approximately 4.5 bcm and the ability to ship 3 million tonnes per year (tpy).

A second FLNG facility, currently under construction, to be added in the project’s next phase, set to be commissioned by the end of 2025.

The project began in December 2022 and was completed on schedule around a year later.

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

For more on the Congo LNG project, see our Congo LNG project highlight.

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