Predator sets up Irish FSRU unit

London Stock Exchange-listed Predator Oil & Gas has established a new unit Predator LNG Ireland to advance an FSRU project in the country.

SLR Environmental Consulting has been appointed as regulatory, planning and environmental advisors to Predator LNG Ireland to advance the floating storage and regasification unit project, Predator said in its statement.

Predator has executed a non-exclusive confidentiality agreement with one potential purchaser of gas to facilitate the exchange of information to develop scoping commercial terms for any future potential gas sales contract.

The company has made comparisons to Infrastrata’s proposed FSRU Project, located in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England.

Comparative CAPEX costs are significantly less for the Predator FSRU solution due to the potential to utilise existing infrastructure which ties directly into the Irish gas transmission network. This eliminates the requirement for any new fixed infrastructure, according to Predator Oil & Gas statement.

Estimated project revenues are consistent with those quoted for the Barrow-in-Furness FSRU Project of £80 to £100 million ($101.2 million – $126.5 million).

Predator scoping technical capacity is approximately 40 per cent of that for the Barrow-in-Furness FSRU project but generates high-profit margins due to lower capital and operating costs resulting from the mature nature of the infrastructure that can be potentially utilised. This significantly reduces the lead time to a financial investment decision, as lower levels of risked capital can be absorbed as an operating cost over the anticipated 20 to 25-year life of the FSRU project.

Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Predator, said, “Industrial and commercial energy users require certainty that peak day energy demands will be met in order to maintain competitiveness and secure investment for business growth to perpetuate alignment with their European neighbors. Brexit is making Ireland largely dependent on the United Kingdom for security of energy supply against a background of difficult trade negotiations.”