Momentum Building for LNG Sector Offshore Mozambique

The oil and gas division of General Electric said Tuesday it entrenched itself in the emerging natural gas sector in Mozambique with new supply contracts.

GE Oil & Gas signed two five-year contracts with a regional subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni to provide equipment for offshore developments tied to Mozambique's gas assets.

"As the only subsea production systems supplier in-country and in East Africa, it provides tremendous opportunities to grow our operations in the region," Neil Saunders, the president and CEO of subsea systems and drilling for GE Oil & Gas, said in a statement.

Eni in 2015 discovered natural gas in a well in an area off the Mozambique coast thought to hold 85 trillion cubic feet of gas in place, adding it was eager to help the country become a hub for liquefied natural gas exports to Asian economies.

Eni in early June launched the implementation phase of its Coral South LNG project, a floating facility drawing in the gas reserves discovered by the company in the Rovuma basin off the coast of Mozambique in deep waters.

The Italian company said the project is a win-win as it capitalizes on the emerging LNG sector while delivering returns to the economy of Mozambique.

"The first ever deep water project to start producing gas in Mozambique, it will provide significant local economic benefits through job creation and support the region's future energy needs," GE Oil & Gas added.

East African basins, led by reservoirs in Mozambique and Tanzania, are home to more than 25 percent of the natural gas discoveries made worldwide between 2010 and 2013.

Total capital spending is estimated at $7 billion. First gas from the Coral South project is expected by 2022.