Thursday 17 August 2017

Start-up of Perenco’s Kribi LNG project off Cameroon is apparently a few months delayed due to protracted pre-commissioning work on a converted floating gas liquefaction vessel at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.

The Hilli Episeyo, which has been converted from a 1975-built Moss liquefied natural gas carrier, is now set for sailaway from the yard in late September or early October, and is not expected to be ready at the field location before early November, shipowner Golar LNG said in a statement disclosing the sale of a stake in the vessel.

Project operator Perenco had previously targeted the launch of production from Kribi at the end of next month.

Golar stated however “no major issues have been identified” and the pre-commissioning phase at the yard had been extended to reduce the time required for commissioning work at the field site.

“All equipment has been installed and pre-commissioning work is well under way. Golar is focused on doing as much testing as possible in the yard and at anchorage in order to minimise the risk of issues being encountered in Cameroon,” the contractor explained.

It added the mooring system has been installed in Cameroon and is ready for hook-up of the FLNG vessel once it arrives after the journey of 32 to 40 days from Singapore.

Golar said it had sold a stake in vessel owning entity Golar Hilli to affiliate Golar LNG Partners for $658 million minus net lease obligations of between $468 million and $480 million under the financing facility for the FLNG unit, giving a net price of between $178 million and $190 million.

The stake is equivalent to a 50% interest in two out of a total of four liquefaction trains being contracted by Perenco under its eight-year vessel lease deal.

Golar LNG Partners said it expects to earn annual revenue of $82 million from its stake in the vessel.