Construction of floating platform that will process natural gas to be extracted in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin, northern Mozambique, began on Thursday with the cutting of the first steel plate, Italian group ENI said.

The ceremony was held on the island of Geoje, South Korea, at a shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries, and was attended by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of Mozambique, Ernesto Max Tonela.

It also occurred just 15 months after the consortium announced the final investment decision for the Coral Sul project, underlining the commitment of Area 4 block partners to start producing liquid natural gas in 2022.

“The start of construction of the hull is another significant milestone in the progress of the construction of the Coral Sul floating natural gas platform to be installed in the Rovuma basin,” the group said in a statement.

The construction of the floating platform began last March in Singapore, with the cutting of the steel sheets for the assembly of the control tower.

The Area 4 block’s participants are the Mozambique Rovuma Ventures, a partnership owned by the ExxonMobil, ENI and the China National Petroleum Corporation groups, which jointly control 70%, with the remaining 30% divided equally between Portuguese group Galp Energia, South Korea’s Kogas and Mozambican state-owned Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH). (macauhub)