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GLNG AFRICA GLNG
Eni purchases Exmar’s Tango FLNG unit for Marine XII offshore Republic of Congo
PROJECTS
ITALIAN oil major Eni SpA has secured a small- scale floating LNG (FLNG) vessel for installa- tion at the Marine XII block offshore Republic of Congo.
In a statement dated August 5, Eni reported that it had acquired Export LNG Ltd, the owner of the Tango FLNG unit, from Belgium’s Exmar. The company didn’t comment on the terms of the transaction, but said in a statement that access to the vessel, which is capable of liquefy- ing 600,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of natural gas, would allow it to accelerate the start of LNG pro- duction at Marine XII.
“The acquisition of this facility allows the development of a fast-track model capable of seizing the opportunities of the LNG market,” it commented. “In addition, the high flexibility and mobility characteristics of the Tango FLNG will favour the development and enhancement of Eni’s equity gas by accelerating production start-up time.”
Exmar confirmed the agreement, saying in a separate statement that it had struck a deal with Eni on the sale of the Tango FLNG unit. The Belgian company put the value of the sale at $572mn-$694mn, explaining that the exact price would depend on Tango FLNG’s performance during the first six months on site.
It also said it had agreed to make the vessel available to the Italian major when the parties closed the transaction, noting that this was expected to happen in the second half of this
month. However, it was not immediately clear when Tango FLNG might arrive at Marine XII. According to ship tracking data posted on Mari- neTraffic.com, the vessel is currently anchored near Nueva Palmira, Uruguay, not far from Bue- nos Aires.
Eni, for its part, indicated that it expected the vessel to arrive in ROC’s offshore zone next year. It said Tango FLNG would begin operating “in the second half of 2023, following the com- pletion of mooring and connection works nec- essary to tie with the Marine XII network and infrastructure,” with LNG production starting sometime before the end of the same year.
Meanwhile, Exmar said in its statement that it was discussing arrangements with the Italian major that went beyond the sale of the FLNG unit. It reported that the parties had agreed on a 10-year charter for a floating storage unit (FSU) vessel based on a converted LNG tanker, and added that it expected Eni to sign separate con- tracts for operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the FLNG and FSU and for engineer- ing services for the LNG project as a whole.
The Italian major will eventually expand LNG production at Marine XII beyond the capacity of the Tango FLNG vessel. In its statement, Eni said that the block would be able to turn out 3mn tpy of LNG, when fully operational.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 32 12•August•2022