Golar Power to Develop LNG Import Terminal in Port of Suape, Brazil

Golar Power Limited, a joint venture between Golar LNG and Stonepeak, has signed a Protocol of Intentions with the State Government of Pernambuco, a state of Brazil, to develop an LNG import terminal in the Port of Suape, located in the northeast of Brazil.

The Golar Power terminal intends to use an existing LNG carrier, permanently docked at the Suape Port for the project.

The vessel will act as a supplier to truck mounted LNG ISO-Containers. These vehicles will then distribute LNG to cities within a radius of up to one thousand kilometers. Initial trucked volumes are estimated at 800 m3 of LNG / day, equivalent to approximately 480,000 m3 of natural gas per day.

Golar Power said it would work in partnership with the local gas distribution company, Companhia Pernambucana de Gás Natural (Copergás) to bring natural gas to regions of the state that are not yet served by traditional pipeline networks. The project is expected to use the existing port infrastructure owned by the government.

It is also planned for LNG to be distributed from Suape to other states in Brazil, through cabotage using small-scale LNG carriers that will be supplied by transshipment and used to transport LNG to other ports in the region.

The State of Pernambuco has an estimated population of 9.6 million people and the terminal is expected to benefit the economy of cities in the interior of the state.

The operations are scheduled to start in the second half of 2020.

The final development of the project remains dependent upon regulatory approvals and the conclusion of commercial agreements.

This is a second major project in Brazil Golar Power announced over the past six months.

Back in October 2019, the company said it would provide a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) for a new LNG terminal at the Port of Vila do Conde, in Barcarena, Brazil.

The LNG terminal is expected to start operations by mid-2021.

The company said FSRU selection and detailing of the terminal were underway with an anticipated FID in the first half of 2020.