Page 7 - GLNG Week 23 2021

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Tanzania reports progress

in talks on LNG project

PROJECTS & TANZANIA’S government is reportedly mak- facility will process gas from three deepwater
COMPANIES ing progress in talks with Equinor (Norway) offshore sites containing about 35 trillion cubic
and Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands) on feet (991bn cubic metres) – Block 2, assigned to
the resumption of work at an LNG project worth Equinor, and Blocks 1 and 4, assigned to Shell –
$30bn. as feedstock for LNG production.
According to Minister of Energy and Min- Tanzania’s government suspended talks
erals Medard Kalemani, the parties are moving on the LNG project in late 2019 in response to
closer to a deal on the Tanzania LNG scheme. then-President John Magufuli’s demand for
“We expect to conclude negotiations for a host a review of the country’s production-sharing
government agreement [HGA] and review pro- regime. Magufuli had intended to resume dis-
duction-sharing agreements [PSAs]” by June 30, cussions late last year, after Tanzania’s presiden-
2022, he told members of the country’s parlia- tial election. However, this decision to wait did
ment last week. not pay off; Magufuli did win another term, but
If this deadline is met, Equinor and Shell he did not return to the matter of Tanzania LNG
should be able to start building an LNG plant in before his death in March 2021.
Lindi, a port in the southern part of the coun- His successor, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has
try, in 2023 and wrap up construction about five taken a different approach, saying she wants to
years later, Kalemani said. Tanzanian authorities push the long-delayed project forward. In April,
have already finalised plans for compensating Hassan urged Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy and
about 600 residents of Lindi for the land that will Minerals to wrap up negotiations on the $30bn
be used for the project, he added. LNG project as quickly as possible. She also said
When finished, the Tanzania LNG plant that her administration was willing to seek out
will have two or three production trains with a other partners if negotiations with Equinor and
capacity of 5mn tonnes per year (tpy) each. The Shell were not successful.™
AMERICAS

Excelerate FSRU comes

online offshore Argentina

PROJECTS & EXCELERATE Energy announced last week to be delivered to Bahia Blanca, in addition to the
COMPANIES that its Exemplar floating storage and regasifica- 24 that had been contracted in March for deliv-
tion unit (FSRU) had started operations offshore ery to Escobar.
the Argentine port of Bahia Blanca. This brings This comes as demand grows while domestic
Argentina’s LNG import facilities to two, with a gas production continues to lag levels seen prior
smaller Excelerate FSRU having already been to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The
stationed at Escobar since 2011. country’s gas output averaged 114mn cubic
The Exemplar has a storage capacity of metres per day in April this year, down from a
150,900 cubic metres, and has previously oper- peak of 144 mcm per day in August 2019.
ated offshore Argentina. It has been leased for Texas-based Excelerate developed the Bahia
the 2021 Southern Hemisphere winter season – Blanca GasPort – South America’s first LNG
from late May until August – to help the country import terminal – in 2008. The terminal had
meet demand for natural gas, which is typically been idle since 2018, as Argentina focused on
higher at this time of year. tapping its Vaca Muerta shale formation, both
Media reported this week that the facility had to supply gas to the domestic market and to
already received its first cargo. drive exports. However, production has not met
Last winter, Argentina’s Integración expectations, owing to a combination of factors
Energética Argentina (Ieasa) – the country’s including Argentina’s economy, a poor com-
buyer of natural gas – purchased 28 LNG car- modity price environment and – most recently
goes to meet winter demand, and this year the – the pandemic. (See GLNG Week 21)
number is predicted to rise to at least 37. Ieasa Excelerate won a tender to reactivate the ter-
recently launched a tender for 13 LNG cargoes minal in April 2021.™

Week 23 11•June•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7