Eni is pressing ahead with its Coral North floating liquefied natural gas development offshore Mozambique, with the Italian major simultaneously evaluating the potential for a third FLNG vessel in the Rovuma Basin. The company plans to drill up to six development wells beginning in November to supply gas to the Coral North platform, continuing a multi-unit FLNG build-out that has made Eni's Area 4 block one of the most active deepwater LNG programmes on the African continent. Reporting from both Zacks Investment Research and Yahoo Finance, both dated 20 October 2026, confirms that the Coral North advancement and the third FLNG evaluation remain live workstreams within Eni's Mozambique strategy.
Coral North follows the Coral Sul FLNG, which became Africa's first deepwater FLNG facility when it delivered its inaugural cargo in 2022. The addition of Coral North represents the next committed step in Eni's Area 4 development strategy, with the new platform requiring a dedicated well campaign to reach production-ready status. Drilling up to six wells constitutes a substantial subsurface programme, and the November mobilisation horizon gives contractors and service providers a near-term window to engage with the supply chain.
The evaluation of a third FLNG unit underlines Eni's long-term confidence in Mozambican deepwater gas reserves. Area 4 holds significant certified resources, and a three-FLNG configuration would represent one of the largest integrated deepwater-to-LNG developments on the African continent. No final investment decision, contract award, or block designation for a third vessel has been announced; the concept remains under evaluation rather than representing a committed project, and neither source adds new detail on timeline or financing structures for this potential unit.
Eni's offshore FLNG model has proven notably more resilient than the onshore alternative. TotalEnergies' Mozambique LNG project at Afungi remains suspended following a 2021 force majeure declaration linked to the Cabo Delgado insurgency, while the Coral series has continued to advance. A third FLNG vessel, if sanctioned, would further cement the floating offshore model as Mozambique's practical near-term LNG delivery mechanism and signal a major second wave of capital expenditure into the Rovuma Basin.
For the service industry, the Coral North drilling campaign beginning in November is the immediately actionable opportunity. Six development wells in a deepwater FLNG setting imply subsea wellhead systems, drilling riser equipment, well completion packages, and offshore support vessel activity. As the Coral North platform approaches its operational phase, hook-up, commissioning, mooring system work, and topsides integration will follow. The third FLNG evaluation remains a watch item rather than a procurement trigger at this stage.
