Sri Lanka to Develop LNG Hub at Hambantota

The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka has signed an agreement with Pearl Energy to develop an LNG hub at the Port of Hambantota, it said on August 24 in a statement.

Pearl plans to deploy a floating storage facility with a primary aim of trading LNG in the region utilising the strategic location of Hambantota, BOI said. The total investment in the project is expected to be $97.2mn.

The floating storage unit will have an initial capacity of 1mn metric tons/year and Pearl will deploy small LNG carriers to redistribute LNG to south India and the Maldives, BOI added.

Pearl’s director Tania Siegertsz said that though the project will primarily target regional trade, the company expects Sri Lanka to switch to gas-based power generation and increase efficiency of its national grid. The port could also start LNG bunkering services thereby making Hambantota and its industrial zone as a ‘clean energy zone’ of the future, she said.