Offshore towage specialist Kotug International has been awarded a contract by Italian energy firm Eni to deliver critical marine services for the Congo LNG project.

The project, situated off the Republic of Congo, includes the Tango FLNG and the Excalibur FSU, with a second FLNG currently under construction.

The project’s first phase involves the nearshore development by positioning the Tango FLNG unit, which has already commenced LNG production and exports as of February 2024. The second phase will include the installation of another FLNG unit offshore.

Under the terms of the contract, Kotug will deploy three powerful rotortugs to support a range of operations, including mooring and unmooring of vessels, handling mooring equipment, providing stand-by services, transporting pilots, and offering antipollution, oilfield goods, and passenger transport services.

Each tug delivers over 80 tonnes of bollard pull and has three thrusters for faster handling under all circumstances.

Eni has seen a significant milestone this week with one of its other African FLNGs. The Italian company has achieved 5m tonnes of LNG produced from the Coral Sul FLNG offshore Mozambique. The FLNG started production in October 2022 and has so far exported 70 LNG cargoes and 10 condensate cargoes.