Exmar’s small-scale Tango FLNG is poised to start up operations in Argentina this week.
Market sources said the cold box of the 0.5 million tonnes per annum, barge-based floating LNG unit, which is moored alongside in Bahia Blanca, was being cooled down on Tuesday in preparation for first production.
Once fully cooled. down the plant will be stabilised over the coming days after which time the unit, which has 16,000-cbm of storage, will have produced around 15,000-cbm of LNG by the end of this week. This would then be discharged into a waiting vessel which will have been brought alongside to receive the first batch.
When production is stabilised, the Belgian shipowner is expected to notify the charterer, local energy company YPF, that it is ready for the performance test of the floater, and a first 15,000-cbm cargo would be produced in three more days.
If this test is successful the unit will be deemed to have started commercial operation
A full-size LNG carrier, possibly TMS Cardiff Gas’147,895-cbm Fuji LNG (built 2004), which is due to discharge a cargo at Argentina’s GNL Escobar floating storage and regasification unit, is expected to head to Tango FLNG to take on the first volumes from the floater.
TradeWinds understands that the vessel will remain alongside after taking on the commissioning shipment to load the first commercial cargo loading a total of 30,000-cbm into one tank.
The detail emerged after Argentina’s YPF was reported in the market offering a partial cargo for sale as the first export from Tango FLNG.
The start up is significant for both Exmar and Argentina.
Tango FLNG will be Exmar’s first LNG floater and the world’s third to be put into operation after Petronas' FLNG Satu and Golar LNG's Hilli Episeyo.
The unit arrived on a heavy-lift vessel on 6 February just months after Exmar and YPF first started talks on the floater in August. The two companies then inked a 10-year tolling agreement under a deal in November.
The mini floater received around 4,000-cbm of LNG for initial cool-down operations in April when volumes were delivered by Shell’s 136,985-cbm Gemmata (built 2004).
The first shipment from the FLNG unit will mark Argentina’s first LNG exports at a time when the country is still importing LNG via its FSRUs.
The country will become the world’s 21st exporting nation as it fires up production from its huge Vaca Muerta shale gas reserves.
