In the occasion of the first shipment of LNG from the Republic of the Congo, the President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou-N’Guesso, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eni Giuseppe Zafarana, and the CEO of Eni Claudio Descalzi celebrated the successful start-up of LNG production in the country. With the first cargo, the Republic of the Congo enters the group of LNG exporting countries, opening up opportunities for economic growth while contributing to global energy balance.

Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi commented that: “The first cargo of LNG from Congo is the result of the strong commitment of Eni and its partners and of the unwavering support of the Government of the Republic of the Congo. Eni and the local partners shared work forces, know-how and technologies, ensuring additional revenues to the country while contributing to Europe’s energy security.”

The Congo LNG project, sanctioned in December 2022, came on stream after just 1 year, in line with the initial timeline: an achievement made possible by Eni’s distinctive phased and parallelized approach and its highly efficient execution plan. The first LNG cargo is currently being loaded and will sail to Piombino’s regasification terminal, in Italy, in the coming days.

The project, situated within the Marine XII permit, will achieve a plateau gas liquefaction capacity of approximately 4.5 billion cubic meters per annum and will mark zero flaring from operated activities in country. The volumes will be marketed by Eni, strengthening and expanding the company’s LNG portfolio, and supporting efforts towards energy security and transition.

Eni is present in Congo since 1968 and is the only company active in the development of the country’s gas resources: it currently supplies gas to the Centrale Électrique du Congo (CEC), which provides 70% of the country’s power generation capacity. Eni is strongly committed to promoting the energy transition in the country through several initiatives, including the Oyo Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, promoted and supported by Eni and managed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Innovation of the Republic of the Congo together with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization). In addition, Eni is including Congo in the value chain of sustainable mobility through the production of agri-feedstock for biorefining, and promotes clean cooking initiatives, to reduce biomass consumption and the emissions associated with combustion.