Golar LNG has pinned down a 2027 delivery position for its next conversion of an LNG carrier into a floating LNG production unit.
Speaking on a results call, chief executive Karl Fredrik Staubo revealed that Golar will take delivery of its conversion candidate, the 148,500-cbm Fuji LNG (built 2004), next week.
It plans to trade the vessel as an LNG carrier until it is ready to move forward on a conversion.
Staubo said the Tor Olav Troim-led company has reconfirmed yard pricing and availability, and providing it takes a final investment decision on a 3.5m tonne per annum Mark II FLNG conversion this year, it can expect a 2027 delivery.
He said long lead items are 55% complete and the company’s total spend to date on this project is $187m.
Golar said today that it has signed a framework agreement with a potential new customer for a long-term opportunity that could utilise either Golar’s existing unit FLNG Hilli or a Mark II FLNG.
Answering analysts’ questions, Staubo said this is not for West Africa.
Golar is honing its narrative on FLNG after selling off its LNG carriers.
Staubo described the company as the world’s largest owner of FLNG capacity with a total of 5.1 mtpa and the only provider of FLNG as a service.
He said Golar FLNG developments could produce landed LNG volumes at $5 per MMBtu, around half the average cost of supply from major export countries such as the US.
The CEO said the FLNG Hilli, which is located off Cameroon, had produced more than 7m tonnes of LNG and delivered 108 cargoes since it started up in 2018.
The unit produced a record 1.46m tonnes in 2023, exceeding its contractual volumes by $300,000.
The company’s second unit, the FLNG Gimi, has arrived on site at BP’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project on the maritime border of Senegal and Mauritania. But project delays would appear to be setting back commercial start-up into 2025.
Staubo also gave colour on Golar subsidiary Macaw Energies, which is developing land-based mobile solutions to turn flared gas into LNG — dubbed by the company “F2X”. The ISO containers carrying the LNG will be named “LiquidFlare”.
He said pilot testing of a first unit will get underway in Texas in the second quarter.
Once this has been proved, Golar is evaluating a separate listing of Macaw to facilitate and accelerate the rollout of the technology.
Golar included the 140,600-cbm LNG carrier Golar Arctic (built 2003) and its stake in small-scale company Avenir LNG under “potential asset sales” in its presentation.
Staubo said Golar “likes” its Avenir stake but it is no longer core to the company. He said Golar is not planning to deploy any more capital into it and will be “opportunistic” as to its ownership of the company.
He described Macaw Energies as more of a core business, but stressed that Golar’s focus remains on FLNG: “Our capital is for FLNG and FLNG only.”
