US company SYCAR has unveiled plans to build Ecuador's first LNG import terminal which will utilise a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU).

Construction work is expected to start in 2021 on a project that is being developed with an unnamed major LNG trading firm.

Florida-based SYCAR said the project is being developed for Bajo Alto in El Oro Province near the existing Thermo Gas Machala Power Plant.

“This project is intended to introduce natural gas to the Ecuadorian energy matrix as a phase one for a future onshore LNG storage terminal,” the company said.

The location for the project is said to have been based on its benign conditions which will allow all-year round access, the projects backers said.

The project is reported to have been awarded a concession from Ecuador’s undersecretary of ports as well as approval for the FSRU from Ecuador’s hydrocarbon ministry.

“We are now in the process of applying for an environmental licence, which we expect to receive by the fourth quarter of 2020,” the company added.

Ecuador’s energy ministry has been seeking to diversify the country's power supply sources in recent years, including LNG imports and possibly pipeline gas deliveries from Peru.

“Ecuador will soon be an importer of LNG, through a small-scale floating LNG terminal to supply LNG to power plants and industrial clients as the country aims to enhance supply security in its hydro-based energy economy,” said SYCAR.

“Natural gas will be a game changer for private and public clients in the country and will reduce their dependence on the highly unstable prices of diesel and other products.”