BW assigns its second FSRU to Pakistan LNG hub

Singapore-based BW Group has signed a 15-year agreement with Pakistan GasPort (PGPL), fixing its second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Port Qasim in Karachi.

Hull No 2118 is under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in South Korea and will be delivered at the end of the year. The vessel can store some 170,000m³ and has peak regasification capacity of 750 mscf/d.

PGPL won the contract in June to develop a second LNG-import operation at Port Qasim. The US$135 million venture will handle an initial 4.5 million tonnes a year under a 15-year contract with state-owned Pakistan LNG Terminals. However, PGPL may double that initial capacity, the company said at the time.

Last year, its first as a member of the LNG-importers’ club, Pakistan imported some 1.05 million tonnes of LNG. However, forecasts from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) suggest that this could increase to anything between 10 million and 19 million tonnes by 2030. 

PGPL chairman Iqbal Ahmed says the new terminal, to be commissioned by June 30 next year, “will reduce Pakistan’s gas deficit by 30 per cent, ensure fuel for 3,600MW of new power-generation plants to reduce power outages by 80 per cent… and save some US$1.5 billion in annual foreign-exchange savings”.

BW announced two weeks ago that it has converted one of its LNG carrier orders at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) into an order for a third FSRU, to be delivered in late 2019 or early 2020. It will take delivery of three DSME-built LNG carriers in 2018-2019.

Its first FSRU, the 170,000m³ BW Singapore, has been based at Ain Sokhna in Egypt since last September. It will import up to 5.5 million tonnes a year. BW is also bidding to supply a third FSRU to Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co (EGAS), although this may be needed as early as next year.

“We are proud to be selected as the FSRU supplier for the Pakistan project,” says BW LNG managing director Yngvil Åsheim. “BW is a leading player in the LNG sector, and we will leverage on our many years of experience to support Pakistan as [it builds its] second LNG terminal.”

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