After Russia's war in Ukraine disrupted global energy markets, especially in Europe, new energy suppliers have emerged to fill the gap in demand. Hydrocarbon-rich African countries in particular are seeing growing interest in their natural gas fields.

Mozambique shipped its first LNG shipment to Europe on Sunday. It was a historic moment for the country, ending a decade-long wait to finally monetize Africa's largest offshore gas field.

The first shipment of LNG came from the Coral Sul floating LNG vessel, which is operated by the Italian multinational energy company Eni. The FLNG is located in the Rovuma basin off the coast of Mozambique and has a capacity of 3.4 million tons per year. It is connected to 6 subsea gas producing wells.

The LNG carrier, named British Sponsor, has been loading ultra-cold gas since Oct. 23, about two weeks after Coral Sul FLNG started producing gas. The vessel is owned by BP, which entitles BP to all of the LNG produced by the Coral Sul project under an initial 20-year contract with ENI and other project partners behind the Coral Sul field.

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi declared in a statement on Sunday: “Today, Mozambique enters the annals of world history as one of the exporters of liquefied natural gas. LNG is not only an alternative source of supply, but also contributes to the energy security of the country that consumes the most made a huge contribution.”

Mozambique's natural gas reserves are estimated to exceed 180 trillion cubic feet, enough to meet a peak production of 30 million tons of LNG per year. Most of these reserves are located in the northeastern region of the country. Eni is the main operator of the Coral South project in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin. Other project partners in Zone 4 include ExxonMobil, China National Petroleum Corporation, Portugal's Galp, South Korea's Kogas and Mozambique's ENH. The Coral South project is currently the only offshore LNG project in Mozambique.

Unfortunately, Mozambique's nascent LNG industry has been hampered by an Islamic insurgency that has severely hampered construction plans for onshore LNG terminals. France's Total Energy was forced to declare force majeure on its 13.1 million mt/year LNG project last year as fighting intensified near Parma , killing dozens.

A 15.2 million tonnes-per-year onshore LNG project led by  Exxon Mobil near Palma has also stalled. Palma is about 30 miles west of the port of Mosinpoa, which the rebels briefly occupied in 2020-21.

Mozambique's first gas shipments come amid reports of a glut of LNG in some European countries. At the end of October, more than 35 vessels loaded with LNG drifted off the coast of Spain and off the Mediterranean Sea. Due to excess LNG capacity at the terminal, the ships are unable to secure space to unload. As Europe shifts its LNG supply from Russia to other sources, its lack of LNG "regasification" and storage infrastructure has been exposed, and it is trying to catch up by leasing floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs).