Page 6 - GLNG Week 14

GLNG AFRICA GLNG
ExxonMobil delays FID on Rovuma LNG
INVESTMENT
SUPER-MAJOR ExxonMobil has announced that it is pushing back a final investment deci- sion (FID) on the proposed Rovuma LNG pro- ject in Mozambique, which had previously been expected this year. The move had been widely anticipated in the wake of the oil price collapse, which led the company to warn in March that it was reviewing its spending for this year and planning cutbacks.
On April 7, ExxonMobil announced a 30% cut to its capital expenditure budget for this year. While this cut will largely affect the US’ Permian Basin, the super-major mentioned in its statement that the FID on Rovuma would be delayed. “ExxonMobil continues to actively work with its partners and the government to optimise development plans by improving synergies and exploring opportunities related to the current lower-cost environment,” the company stated.
The delay is the second one in recent months for Rovuma LNG. An FID had previously been anticipated in 2019, but was pushed back to 2020. However, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project was awarded in October 2019, to JGC-led consortium
that also consists of Fluor and TechnipFMC. Rovuma LNG represents the largest ever pri- vate investment in an African country – another factor that makes the latest delay unsurprising as ExxonMobil seeks to cut spending this year. The facility would have the capacity to produce 15.2mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG and has
been estimated to cost $27-33bn to build. ExxonMobil noted that the Coral floating LNG (FLNG) development – which will use feedstock gas from Area 4 offshore Mozambique along with Rovuma LNG – was continuing as planned. The Coral Sul FLNG facility will have a capacity of about 3.4mn tpy of LNG, supplied by six subsea wells, and is already under construc-
tion, with start-up planned for 2022.
The other partners in Area 4 are Italy’s Eni,
China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), Mozambique’s ENH, Korea Gas (KOGAS) and Portugal’s Galp. ExxonMobil farmed into Area 4 in December 2017, and is due to lead the construction and operation of all future liq- uefaction and related facilities, while Eni will continue to lead the Coral FLNG project and all upstream operations.™
AMERICAS
Cryopeak begins construction on small-scale LNG facility
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
CANADA’S Cryopeak LNG Solutions has started construction on a small-scale LNG facil- ity in Fort Nelson, British Columbia. The project is the first fully funded and permitted LNG pro- duction facility in the Fort Nelson area, and will have the capacity to produce up to 90,000 gallons (409,148 litres) per day of LNG.
Cryopeak’s facility will be the closest LNG production point to Northern Canada and por- tions of Alaska. Indeed, the project is aimed at supplying remote communities and industries in Northern Canada at a lower cost than if fuel were to be shipped from further away. The company has also touted the environmental credentials of LNG compared to other fuel sources.
The plant will be modular in design with minimal installation requirements at the site, Cryopeak said in an April 2 statement. The plant design incorporates a new truck loading system that optimises loading of Cryopeak’s fleet of LNG Super-B tankers, the company noted.
CryoSys has been selected to supply the lique- faction equipment for the project.
“Our highly efficient optimised mixed refrig- erant process and our ability to package the modular liquefaction plant in our workshop
allows us to provide the lowest installation and operating costs for a small-scale LNG plant in the LNG marketplace,” CryoSys’ president, Neil Karr, said. He added that the equipment would be delivered in the early summer.
Cryopeak said it was partnering with First Nations in the Fort Nelson to develop business opportunities associated with the project. The company anticipates that business opportuni- ties will become available to local workers and businesses for the construction of the facility, and for the distribution of LNG to Northern Canada from a new transportation hub that will be located within the municipality of Fort Nelson.
Cryopeak made no mention in its statement of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic might affect the project’s construction. How- ever, on its website, the company says it is closely monitoring the developments related to the pandemic and evaluates its operations on a daily basis.
Larger LNG projects under development in the province – the LNG Canada mega-project and Woodfibre LNG – have both announced changes to activity as a result of COVID-19.™
P6
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 14 10•April•2020