Golar LNG has confirmed the final investment decision (FID) and fulfilment of all conditions precedent for the 20-year re-deployment charter of the FLNG Hilli Episeyo, first announced on July 5, 2024.
The vessel will be chartered to Southern Energy (SESA) offshore Argentina.
In addition, Golar LNG and SESA have entered into definitive agreements for a 20-year charter for the MKII FLNG, currently under conversion at CIMC Raffles shipyard in Yantai, China.
The MKII FLNG charter remains subject to FID and the same regulatory approvals as granted to the FLNG Hilli project, expected within 2025.
Hilli Episeyo, with a nameplate capacity of 2.45 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), has an expected contract start-up in 2027. MKII FLNG, with a nameplate capacity of 3.5 MTPA, has an expected contract start-up in 2028.
Subject to a three-year notice and payment of a fee, SESA may reduce the term of the agreement to 12 years for Hilli Episeyo and to 15 years for the MKII FLNG.
The FLNGs will be located in close proximity of each other, offshore in the Gulf of San Matias in the province of Rio Negro, Argentina. The vessels will monetise gas from the Vaca Muerta formation, the world’s second largest shale gas resource, located onshore in the province of Neuquen, Argentina.
Hilli Episeyo will initially utilise spare volumes from the existing pipeline network. SESA intends to facilitate for a dedicated pipeline to be constructed from Vaca Muerta to the Gulf of San Matias to serve gas supply to the FLNGs.