The dismissal of Mozambique's energy minister will not affect Italian oil firm Eni's final investment decision (FID) on an offshore gas project there, Eni's CEO Claudio Descalzi said on Sept. 30.

Energy Minister Pedro Couto was dismissed by Mozambique's president on Sept. 29, one month before Eni is due to finalize its decision on the Coral offshore gas project, which is worth tens of billions of dollars. No reason was given for Couto's dismissal.

"The government's decision will have no impact," Descalzi told journalists in Paris.

Descalzi said all approvals for Coral had been obtained from the government and major policies and special decrees related to the project had been completed last year.

"The last step is the project financing which is independent," he said, adding that a FID could come, as expected, in October or November.

The southern African state discovered offshore gas reserves six years ago amounting to about 85 trillion cubic feet, one of the largest finds in a decade.

The gas offers Mozambique an opportunity to transform itself from one of the world's poorest countries into a middle-income state and a major global LNG exporter.

Eni met bankers in London last week about project financing to develop the field.

Descalzi also said that Eni was not looking to sell stakes in any other assets in Africa except in its Area 4 concession in Mozambique and in the Zohr gas project in Egypt.

"In Zohr, because we have 100% of it, and it is a big investment and production, which is why it is reasonable to share the risk with other partners," he said.