Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines and state-owned terminal operator Singapore LNG (SLNG) have inked a long-term charter contract for an on-order $414m floating storage and regasification unit that will act as a second import unit for the island state.
The deal, which has been in the works for months and was first reported by TradeWinds in July, was signed at a launch event for the project in Singapore on Wednesday along with agreements with Jurong Port and Wood Group.
MOL has contracted the FSRU at Hanwha Ocean in South Korea.
SLNG chief executive Leong Wei Hung said: “The second LNG terminal underscores the continued importance of LNG in Singapore’s energy mix, as well as SLNG’s continual role and responsibility in helping to ensure Singapore’s energy security.”
MOL president and chief executive Takeshi Hashimoto said: “MOL has been actively engaged in a variety of global FSRU projects, establishing substantial expertise to provide services with assured reliability.”
This month, MOL was named as the shipowner behind an order for a very pricey KRW 545.4bn ($413.7m) FSRU at the South Korean yard with a delivery date of October 2027.
SLNG revealed that the FSRU will have a storage capacity of 200,000 cbm — a new size for a regas unit — and a regasification capacity of 5 mtpa.
The FSRU — Singapore’s first — will be moored at the Jurong Port where it will receive, store and regasify LNG before sending gas ashore.
Currently, about 95% of the state’s domestic power generation is fuelled by imported natural gas.
The shipowner, which has been expanding its FSRU interests, will own, manage and operate the unit on delivery in 2027, leaving a question mark on how it will be deployed in the interim years before SLNG’s planned start-up for its terminal.
SLNG said the regas unit is expected to enter into service by the end of the decade, and together with its existing land-based terminal on Jurong Island, it will allow for a combined LNG throughput capacity of up to 15 mtpa.
“The FSRU will also offer greater flexibility to SLNG in meeting Singapore’s future gas demand,” the state-owned terminal operator said.
It said it has awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to a subsidiary of Wood to define the scope of the onshore connecting infrastructure.
The FEED contract will provide the engineering design and comprehensive scope of works required for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the construction of the terminal.
The FEED contract is expected to be completed around mid-2025, and the request for proposal process for the EPC contract will follow.
