Golar LNG has signed a contract to provide West African Gas Limited (WAGL) with a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) services in Ghana
The contract is for an initial period of five years, and WAGL has the option to extend it for another five years. The contract is for the provision of the 170,000 cu/m new build FSRU Golar Tundra which Golar has received from Samsung this month. The vessel will be delivered to WAGL in Ghana after undergoing some minor modifications in Singapore. Golar LNG expects an EBITDA of about US$44mn in the first full year of operation.
Gary Smith, CEO of Golar LNG, said, “Ghana represents an exciting new business opportunity for Golar. West Africa is becoming an increasingly important region for our business and we are proud to be jointly developing Sub Saharan Africa's first FSRU in partnership with WAGL. We are very pleased that WAGL has entrusted Golar with their FSRU services which again demonstrates our established reputation as a leading operator of floating midstream LNG assets.”
WAGL, jointly owned by subsidiaries of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with 60 per cent stake and Sahara Energy Resource with 40 per cent stake, has liquefied natural gas (LNG) import operations in Ghana. The JV is developing an LNG import project at the port of Tema on the coast of the West African country, with start of operations planned in Q2 2016. The FSRU will be moored inside the port at a new jetty being built by WAGL.
Umar Ajiya, MD of WAGL, said, “This landmark achievement is the first of its kind in Sub Saharan Africa and strategically positions Ghana to be an energy hub.”