A first floating storage and regasification unit for Greece has left Singapore following GasLog’s conversion of an LNG carrier into an FSRU.
Singaporean shipyard group Seatrium said the FSRU Alexandroupolis completed its near-shore testing works and set sail to Greece for final gas commissioning of the regasification system.
Kpler ship tracking data shows the FSRU heading into the Indian Ocean and is giving an estimated time of arrival in February 2024.
The unit, which is a conversion of GasLog’s 155,000-cbm LNG carrier GasLog Chelsea (built 2010), was delivered to GasLog subsidiary GAS-fifteen, the company said.
The FSRU will be deployed around 17km to the south-west of the Port of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece and will be connected to the shore by a 28km pipeline, 24km of which will be beneath the sea.
The unit will have an overall delivery capacity of approximately 5.5bn cbm per year, with a peak send out of 22m cbm per day. It will be used to supply markets in south-eastern Europe.
The FSRU will be owned and managed by Gastrade, a consortium of natural gas players.
GasLog owns a 20% stake in Gastrade. The shipowner sold the GasLog Chelsea to Gastrade for $265.1m in February this year.
Gastrade has spoken about adding a second FSRU in the region.
The vessel is the first FSRU conversion under the Greek flag.
Seatrium said its projects on the conversion involved refurbishment and life extension works, engineering and procurement, fabrication, and installation of a new regasification skid, as well as supporting systems such as boilers, offloading, electrical and automation systems.
The company said a converted unit has a smaller carbon footprint, is more cost-effective, and is faster to market when compared to building a new FSRU.
Seatrium chief executive Chris Ong described the job as “a significant milestone” for Seatrium.
“We look forward to delivering more of such innovative solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs,” he said.
