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GLNG AMERICAS GLNG

Golar Power shows strong interest

in Brazilian LNG terminal

PROJECTS & THE head of Golar Power, a 50:50 joint venture Sebastião do Passé, but it will not gain access to
COMPANIES between Bermuda-headquartered Golar LNG the Excelerate Experience, a floating storage and
and New York-listed Stonepeak Infrastructure regasification unit (FSRU) that Petrobras has
Partners, said last week that his company was installed at the port.
“very interested” in competing for the right to Petrobras is auctioning off a lease to the facil-
lease the Bahia LNG terminal in northern Brazil. ity within the framework of its plan to divest its
According to a Reuters report, Eduardo gas transport and distribution assets and to allow
Antonello, the CEO of Golar Power, said during third parties to access gas infrastructure. It drew
a webinar that the firm was keen to work at the up the outlines of this plan last year, under an
Bahia LNG terminal as the national oil company agreement with the Brazilian government’s anti-
(NOC) Petrobras and the government strived to trust agency, known as Cade.
open up the Brazilian natural gas sector to pri- Bahia LNG is one of three LNG regasifica-
vate investors. He also stated that his company tion terminals that Petrobras has built along the
had already carried out operations at the facility. coast of Brazil. Two of these facilities – Bahia and
Antonello did not say how much Golar Power Pecem – are currently operating below design Bahia LNG is
would be willing to offer for the lease contract. capacity, and the third terminal – the Guanabara
The company is one of nine entities pre-quali- terminal, which is in Rio de Janeiro – has been one of three LNG
fied to bid in Petrobras’ bidding contest. The out of service since 2018.
other eight include Excelerate Energy (US), Golar Power is eyeing several other LNG-re- regasification
another international firm that specialises in lated projects in Brazil. Last month, the com-
LNG; Compass Gas and Energy, a new Brazil- pany said it had signed a memorandum of terminals that
ian gas transport and distribution company set understanding (MoU) with Norway-based Petrobras has
up by the Cosan industrial group; two Brazilian Norsk Hydro to develop an LNG terminal in
gas distributors, Bahiagas and Naturgy, and four Brazil’s northern region. The parties are looking built along the
vertically integrated international oil companies to install an FSRU near Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte
(IOCs) – BP (UK), Repsol (Spain), Royal Dutch alumina-processing plant, which is near Vila do coast of Brazil.
Shell (UK/Netherlands) and Total (France) – as Conde Port in Barcarena, Pará State.
well as two international firms that specialise in The proposed terminal is slated to start oper-
LNG. ations in the first half of 2022, and the companies
The Bahia LNG terminal is located in the hope to take a final investment decision (FID)
north-eastern Brazil state of Bahia, an emerging within the next six months. The fate of the pro-
oil and gas region. It is capable of importing and ject will depend on a final supply agreement with
regasifying the equivalent of 20mn cubic metres Hydro.
per day of LNG. The winner of the lease con- Meanwhile, Golar Power also said last month
tract will also control a 45-km pipeline that runs that it aimed to invest $2mn to develop a net-
from terminal facilities in the port of Bahia to work of pipelines in Brazil’s northern Pernam-
exit points in São Francisco do Conde and São buco State, which borders Bahia to the south.™

Week 35 04•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13