MOL and Gas Sayago Seal Uruguay LNG FSRU Charter Deal

zoomThe FSRU under construction at DSME in South Korea. Image Courtesy: MOL Lakler S.A., a wholly owned  subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), has agreed to conclude a 20-year charter contract with Gas Sayago of Uruguay for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project expected to start in the first half of 2018. The project will be led by Gas Sayago, a joint venture between Uruguays state oil company ANCAP and state power company UTE. The contract will take effect upon governmental approval which is expected to be granted by the end of 2016. The FSRU, currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea, will be equipped with a 263,000m3 LNG storage tank and supply gas to Uruguay and its neighboring countries. The vessel has the capability of re-loading LNG cargo to shuttle tankers as well as sending gas through pipelines. These specifications allow LNG re-export services and LNG bunkering services to the country and its neighboring regions. Back in October, 2015, MOL reached a basic agreement with Gas Sayago to continue the FSRU project, following cancellation of a contract by Uruguay’s government with GNLS S.A., a 50-50 joint venture between ENGIE of France and Marubeni Corporation. Then in May 2016, MOL and Gas Sayago agreed to conclude the charter contract, with a final deal initially announced for June 2016.