Page 4 - GLNG Week 16 2022

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG

Details of Firebird LNG project

becoming clearer

Phoenix Development Co. seems to be settling on plans for building an offshore pipeline to
serve an onshore LNG plant in Suriname, as well as its two onshore facilities in Nickerie

LATIN AMERICA BACK in mid-February, Phoenix Development consumers in the DWP and SEZ.” It also indi-
Co. (PDC), a Houston-based group set up by cated that the structure would be onshore, say-
WHAT: investors from multiple countries, was talking up ing: “Access to affordable and stable energy is key
PDC’s FEED study will its plans for making use of associated gas from to attracting world-class tenants to the WP and
cover an onshore gas- offshore oilfields in the Guyana-Suriname basin. SEZ. Establishing the required onshore facilities
receiving facility and In a statement, it revealed that it had signed to accept offshore gas production is critical to
an LNG plant and export a contract with Dallas-based Schwob Energy eliminating or substantially mitigating the envi-
facility. Services (SES) for front-end engineering and ronmental and economic impacts of flaring in
design (FEED) services on an offshore gas hub the [Guyana-Suriname] basin.”
WHY: and LNG plant in Suriname. It said SES had Gas liquefaction plant and LNG export facil-
The company’s recent agreed to help draw up plans for the construc- ity: PDC implied (but did not state explicitly)
statements have helped tion of a hub consisting of delivery, storage and that the 4mn tpy gas liquefaction plant would be
clarify which facilities off-loading facilities, as well as a gas liquefaction onshore. It focused instead on its emissions-re-
will be built onshore. plant and pipeline connections. duction goals, saying that it intended to provide
The company stressed that the hub would be electric power to the facility in a way that brought
WHAT NEXT: able to receive gas from both sides of the mar- net carbon dioxide emissions down to zero.
Firebird LNG will need to itime border between Guyana and Suriname. Additionally, it highlighted its hydrogen ambi-
ensure access to gas to It also said the facility could send some gas to tions, saying: “The cutting-edge facilities will
guarantee its success. two onshore facilities – the Deep-Water Port be designed to fully integrate liquid hydrogen
(DWP) and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) facil- production, storage and loading alongside the
ities, which PDC is set to build in co-operation LNG produced at the plant, enabling Suriname
with Havenbeheer Suriname (HBS), the port to lead the energy transition in South America
authority of Paramaribo – for local use, with and CARICOM [the Caribbean Community
the remaining volumes going to the LNG plant. organisation].”
The latter facility is slated to have a single pro-
duction train with a capacity of 4mn tonnes per Offshore pipeline
year (tpy). PDC then made more information available in
At that time, the exact parameters of the pro- late March, after a delegation from the company
ject were not clear. That is, it was not immedi- travelled to Paramaribo and discussed the pro-
ately evident whether PDC intended to establish ject with Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad
some type of gas liquefaction facility offshore, in Santokhi and Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk.
the vicinity of the hub, or build an LNG plant According to a statement issued by the
onshore. company’s partner HBS, PDC and MAD have
Since then, the company has issued state- formed Firebird LNG to serve as a vehicle for
ments clarifying its LNG plans, which were the implementation of the LNG project. HBS
drawn up in co-operation with Make a Differ- described PDC’s plan as “a mid-scale LNG solu-
ence Ventures (MAD), a clean energy invest- tion” and said the company planned to build its
ment platform based in Idaho. It is now talking gas liquefaction plant in Nickerie, a north-west-
in definitive terms about building a subsea pipe- ern district of Suriname that shares a border with
line to transport gas to onshore facilities. Guyana.
“PDC will engage natural gas producers in
Onshore construction the Suriname-Guyana Basin to provide a gas
It began doing so on February 18, when it issued solution for producers and much-needed LNG
an official statement on the award of the FEED to the global market,” it explained. “Firebird
services contract to SES. It explained that the LNG will develop an open-access gas pipeline,
contract would cover the following structures: with equal treatment for producers on both sides
Gas-receiving facility: PDC described this of the border to deliver natural gas to shore for
structure as “the landing point for offshore gas liquefaction.”
pipeline deliveries to service the various gas The statement went on to say that PDC hoped

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 22•April•2022