Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Hoegh LNG Bags FSRU Deal in Chile
Photo by Höegh LNG Oslo-based Höegh LNG said it has signed an Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU)contract with Chilean Octopus LNG for the Penco-Lirquén LNG import terminal to be located in Concepción Bay, Chile. The contract is for a period of 20 years and is expected to generate an average annual EBITDA of around USD 36 million, Höegh LNG said in a statement. The contract is subject to Octopus completing financing and obtaining necessary environmental approvals, and the planned start-up is in the second quarter 2018. Höegh LNG will service the contract with an FSRU from its newbuilding program currently in progress. The FSRU will be offered to Höegh LNG Partners LP in due course. Octopus’ General Manager, Alfonso Ardizzoni, said in a statement “Höegh LNG’s FSRU expertise, allowed us to present a competitive and successful bid in the recent public tender process ran by the Comisión Nacional de Energía for the supply of electricity to distribution companies in the Sistema Interconectado Central, the Chilean main electric grid.” Ardizzoni added that Höegh LNG’s technology will enable the construction of the El Campesino power plant as well as supplying the growing demand of natural gas in the Bio Bio region. The LNG import terminal is expected to substantially increase the reliability and competitiveness of the power generation and natural gas markets, according to the statement. Octopus LNG SpA is a project development company created to provide LNG storage and regasification services to power generators and industrial users in the Bio Bio region of Chile. Höegh LNG provides floating energy solutions and operates world-wide with a leading position as owner and operator of floating LNG import terminals; FSRUs.