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Italy’s energy giant Eni has commemorated the inaugural liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from the second phase of its LNG project off the coast of Congo, Africa.
Denis Sassou N’Guesso , President of the Republic of Congo, and Claudio Descalzi , Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, attended on February 7, 2026, in Pointe-Noire the ceremony marking the first cargo of LNG from the Nguya FLNG , signaling the start-up of gas exports from Phase 2 of the Congo LNG project around two months after the launch of Congo LNG Phase 2 last year.
This enables the FLNG Nguya to work alongside the FLNG Tango that has been deployed at the project since late 2023 . The first LNG cargo milestone is perceived to represent a further step toward the Italian firm’s target of expanding its LNG portfolio to 20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030, leveraging the flexibility, competitiveness and geographical diversification of its equity projects.
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With Phase 2, the Congo LNG project has reached a total liquefaction capacity of 3 mtpa of LNG, equivalent to 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas per year, leveraging gas resources from the Nené and Litchendjili fields in the offshore Marine XII license . This undertaking is said to highlight Eni’s ability to transform gas resources into strategic value for the country and international markets, through a cost-competitive project with strong environmental performance.
Phase 1 of Congo LNG, launched with the Tango FLNG liquefaction unit, reached start-up in December 2023, just over one year after the project definition. Phase 2 start-up, in turn, come only 35 months after construction of the Nguya FLNG unit began. As a result, the operator claims that this sets a new international industry benchmark in terms of execution speed and efficiency.
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Descalzi emphasized: “We have been the only company to invest in gas to develop the domestic market and to reduce routine flaring. This decision, taken more than 20 years ago, led us to discover enough volumes to enable export as well.
“Phase II of the Congo LNG project was delivered in record time compared with industry averages, increasing gas availability on international markets and contributing to Italian and European energy security, while at the same time generating concrete benefits for the local economy.”
With equity production of approximately 70,000 boed in 2025, expected to rise to 110,000 boed in 2026, Eni supplies gas to the Congo Power Plant, which provides around 70% of the country’s electricity generation capacity, and contributes to the strengthening of the high-voltage transmission network.
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