A ceremony was held on October 21 to mark the sail away of two vessels comprising the Republic of the Congo’s first floating liquefied natural gas production venture.

The Tango Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Excalibur Floating Storage Unit (FSU) set sail from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Tango FLNG, which has a liquefaction capacity of approximately 1 billion cubic metres per annum of gas (bcma), will be moored 3 kilometres offshore along with the Excalibur FSU vessel upon their arrival in Congo.

The first phase of the Congo LNG project will start up in December 2023. The project will reach approximately 4.5 bcma of gas liquefaction capacity at its plateau, with zero routine gas flaring. It will help the African country meet its energy needs, while seizing the opportunity to exploit surplus gas through LNG production, joining the group of global exporters of LNG.

All the LNG produced by the project will be marketed by Italian energy giant Eni.

A second FLNG vessel with a capacity of approximately 3.5 bcma of gas is under construction and will begin production in 2025.

Eni has been operating in the Republic of Congo for over 50 years, and is the only company active in the development of the country’s gas resources. It currently supplies gas to the Congo Electric Power Station (CEC), which accounts for 70% of the country's power production capacity.

Tango FLNG will have a liquefaction capacity of approximately 1 billion cubic metres per annum of gas. Photo: Exmar