Extraction and processing of natural gas in the Mamba field in the Rovuma Basin Area 4 block in northern Mozambique is expected to begin by 2024, the chief executive of Italian group ENI said on Friday in Milan.

“The Mamba project is managed by ExxonMobil, we are dealing with the project’s oil and gas distribution, and the US group is expected to make the final investment decision after the summer,” Claudio Descalzi said in response to a question from Portuguese news agency Lusa.

At the end of the oil company’s strategy presentation for the next three years, ENI’s chief executive said he expected production to begin by that date, provided the final investment decision is made this year, as project funding and the signing of contracts for the sale of gas “is going well.”

The Rovuma LNG project in the Mamba field is operated by Mozambique Rovuma Venture, a partnership whose shareholders are ExxonMobil, EN and CNODC – China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation, which jointly hold a 70% interest in the concession of the Area 4 Block, with South Korea’s Kogas, Galp Energia and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) of Mozambique each with a 10% stake. (Macauhub)