Lithuanian Firm to Operate Brazilian LNG Terminal
Lithuanian oil and LNG terminal operator Klaipedos Nafta (KN) announced on February 3 it had signed a deal to operate a regasification facility under construction in the Brazilian port of Acu.
KN reached the agreement with the project’s developer Gas Natural Acu (GNA) – a joint venture between BP, Germany’s Siemens and Brazil’s Gas Natural Acu. The company will support the terminal’s commissioning and be responsible for the operation and maintenance of its jetty, gas pipelines, gas meter stations and other installations.
The deal comes into force once GNA secures corporate and lender’ approvals, KN said, and will be valid for the Acu terminal’s first 13 years of operation at least.
The terminal, capable of regasifying 21mn m3/day of gas is due to start operations in 2020. Its launch is timed to coincide with the start-up of two 1.5-GW power plants operated by GNA.
The project will use the 170,000-m3 BW Magna floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) supplied by Singaporean shipping giant BW Group. LNG will be delivered to the facility by BP.
KN operates Lithuania's 4bn m3/yr Klaipeda LNG terminal. The facility's FSRU is owned by Norway's Hoegh LNG and leased to KN under a 10-year contract, but the Lithuanian operator has said it may decide to buy the vessel to cut costs.