GDF SUEZ signed a 15-year BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) contract with Gas Sayago SA for LNG storage and regasification services in Uruguay.
The GNL del Plata plant is located offshore in the Punta Sayago area, near Uruguay's capital Montevideo. The LNG terminal will comprise a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), and a jetty protected by a 1.5km breakwater. The entire capacity of the terminal, which will be capable of receiving LNG carriers up to 218,000m3, will be reserved by the off-taker Gas Sayago. Commercial operation of the new terminal is expected in 2015.
Development of LNG regasification capacity forms part of Uruguay’s Energy Policy 2005-2030 and has been identified as a priorty by the government. GNL del Plata is one of Uruguay’s most important infrastructure projects and will contribute positively to a significant change in the country’s energy mix by providing an additional clean fuel source with access to international markets. The project will also reduce the proportion of imported oil in the country’s energy supply.
The LNG terminal will have a long-term storage capacity of 263,000m3 and regasification capacity of 10Msm3/d, expandable to 15Msm3/d. The shuttle regasification vessel GDF SUEZ Neptune will be used as a bridge solution before the delivery of the new-built FSRU contracted to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. Tractebel Engineering will act as owner engineer during the construction phase.
Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman and CEO of GDF SUEZ, said: “GNL del Plata marks our entry into the Uruguayan market and further expands our presence in Latin America, which is a key growth region for our group. LNG demand in the region is expected to more than double within the next 10 years and this terminal will allow us to support the development of the LNG industry and to strengthen our global LNG footprint and experience.”
Gas Sayago is owned by the Uruguayan state-owned companies UTE and ANCAP.
Image: GDF Suez
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