Höegh LNG takes delivery of Höegh Esperanza FSRU

Norway-based FSRU provider Höegh LNG has taken delivery of Höegh Esperanza, its eighth floating storage and regasification unit.

This FSRU has been constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. It was designed for open, combined and closed-loop regasification operation, the company said on Thursday.

The FSRU is 294m long and 46m wide and has a storage capacity of 170,000 cubic meters of LNG and a maximum regasification throughput of 750 million standard cubic feet per day.

It is equipped with a GTT Mark III membrane containment system and dual-fuel diesel-electric (DFDE) propulsion.

Höegh Esperanza is fully financed at a fixed interest rate of approximately 4 percent, with the $200 million debt portion expandable to $230 million once long-term employment has been secured, according to Höegh LNG.

Höegh LNG said before that the vessel was intended to serve the Penco-Lirquén LNG import terminal and the accompanying onshore gas-fired power plant in Chile.

However, as the start of Chile’s third LNG import terminal has been delayed due to issues with the project’s environmental approval, the FSRU will be reallocated to a different project.

Höegh LNG said in its latest statement it was in advanced talks for intermediate employment of Höegh Esperanza on a combined FSRU and LNGC contract with seasonal use in FSRU mode until the anticipated start date of its contract in Chile.