Bermuda-headquartered owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers Golar LNG Limited has agreed on the material commercial terms and conditions for the development of a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export project in Cameroon with Societe Nationale de Hydrocarbures (SNH) and Perenco Cameroon.
The new tolling agreement which defines the material commercial terms and conditions for the project is now subject to finalisation with SNH and approval from the government of Cameroon. The tolling agreement and the Midstream Gas Convention, which sets out the regulatory and fiscal regime governing the FLNG operations in Cameroon, are expected to be approved in the third quarter of 2015.
Golar, Perenco and SNH have for the past two years been developing a floating liquefied natural gas export project located near shore off the coast of Cameroon situated in an area of benign sea states and utilizing Golar’s floating liquefaction technology (GoFLNG).
The project is based on the allocation of 500 Bcf of natural gas reserves from offshore Kribi fields, which will be exported to global markets via the GoFLNG facility Hilli, now under construction at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.
Golar will provide the liquefaction facilities and services under a tolling agreement to SNH and Perenco as parties of the upstream joint venture. It is anticipated that the allocated reserves will be produced at a rate of 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per annum, representing approximately 50% of the vessel’s nameplate production capacity, over an approximate eight year period. It is expected that production will commence in the second quarter of 2017.
“This project in Cameroon is breaking new ground both technically and commercially for the LNG industry and would not have been possible without the innovative approach adopted by the teams at Perenco, SNH and Golar,” Golar’s CEO Gary Smith said.
”This commitment with Perenco represents a further step in the implementation of Golar’s strategy to become the industry’s leading integrated midstream LNG services provider, supporting resource owners, gas producers and gas consumers.”