Mozambique and Italy's Eni have signed a 20-year deal to sell LNG to BP Plc (NYSE: BP), an important step in getting a long-delayed project off the ground, state energy firm ENH said on Oct. 4.

Eni and Mozambique should, by the end of 2016, reach a final investment decision on a project to build a floating offshore platform with a capacity to produce 3.3 million tonnes per year of LNG from gas in the Coral South Field, ENH said.

The Coral Field is part of the huge reserves discovered six years ago in the Area 4 concession off the coast of Mozambique.

"Through this agreement, the partners of Area 4 have achieved another important milestone," ENH said in a statement.

Eni met with bankers in London in September about project financing to develop the Coral Field.

Giant gas reserves offer 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.