Singapore LNG is in final discussions with two shortlisted shipowners that are bidding to provide the state-controlled terminal operator with a floating storage and regasification unit.
Those following the project name the final pair emerging from the tender for the business as Norway’s Hoegh LNG and Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines.
They said a decision on a preferred party for the work is expected by the end of April.
A spokesman for Singapore LNG said: “The process is still ongoing. We will look into providing an update at a later, opportune time.”
MOL and Hoegh LNG declined to comment.
Hoegh LNG has declared itself sold out on existing FSRUs, having supplied a raft of tonnage for Germany after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But it has acquired an existing LNG carrier as a potential conversion candidate.
In February, MOL won the job of providing an FSRU newbuilding for Polish energy company Gaz-System, snatching the business from rival bidder BW LNG.
MOL has contracted a newbuilding at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries at a top-dollar price of $363m — up from the last done FSRU newbuilding contracted in October 2022 at $337m.
Different designs
Singapore LNG floated its eagerly awaited full tender late last year, inviting parties interested in building an FSRU after running an earlier pre-qualification process.
Selected bidders were then invited to offer in on what TradeWinds understands to be two different design concepts.
Sources said the first of these is a seagoing vessel and the second a self-propelled barge-based unit.
Last year, Singapore deputy prime minister and finance minister Lawrence Wong referenced a regas unit with a capacity of up to 5m tonnes per annum that would serve as Singapore’s second import facility alongside its existing land-based terminal.
Singapore LNG said the regas unit would be connected to the grid via an onshore pipeline and be in service by the end of this decade.
Singapore LNG has been given the role of overseeing the job of acquiring and later operating the FSRU.
The company operates the onshore terminal on Jurong Island, which was put into operation in 2013. This has a peak send-out of about 11 mtpa and a dedicated jetty for small vessels.
Singapore has been mooting the idea of installing a floating regas unit for several years, to meet growing energy needs and enhance security.
