MOL, Gas Sayago Move Forward with Uruguay LNG FSRU Deal

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Lakler S.A., agreed to conclude a charter contract with Gas Sayago, a joint venture between Uruguay’s state oil company ANCAP and state power company UTE, for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The two companies aim to reach a final deal on the project in June this year, MOL said.

The FSRU that is intended to serve this project is currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea.

According to MOL, it will be equipped with the largest LNG storage tank (263,000m³) of any FSRU in the world. After completion at the shipyard, it will travel to Uruguay to begin LNG receiving and regasifying operations. The FSRU is expected to be ready for service in mid-2017.

The groundwork for the deal was set in October, 2015 when MOL reached a basic agreement with Gas Sayago, to continue the FSRU project, following cancellation of a contract by Uruguay’s government with GNLS S.A., a 50-50 joint venture between ENGIE of France and Marubeni Corporation.

In October 2013, MOL signed a 20-year charter contract for an FSRU in the port of Montevideo, Uruguay, with GNLS, which was entrusted with the construction, ownership, and operation of the terminal project. This is the first FSRU project in which MOL will solely build, own, and operate the facility.

As MOL anticipates continued growth in the FSRU field, the company said that it was “aggressively seeking new opportunities, drawing upon more than 30 years of experience and a strong track record in LNG loading/discharging, vessel operation, and maintenance.”