Southern Energy Agrees to Charter Argentina FLNG for 20 Years

Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The latest announcement in one of Argentina's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects aimed at exporting Vaca Muerta's growing production, Southern Energy S.A. (SESA) has reached a final investment decision (FID) to charter Golar LNG's (Hamilton, Bermuda) 3.5 million-ton-per-annum (MTPA) MK II floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel.

The ship would be chartered for 20 years, and the charter hire will be worth US$400 million per year, plus a commodity tariff of 25% of free on board prices in excess of US$8 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).

The MK II FLNG vessel is currently under conversion in China and is expected to begin operations by 2028. The vessel will be moored in the San Matias Gulf next to the FLNG Hilli, the other vessel chartered for this project. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can read detailed reports on the MK II and Hilli FLNG projects.

Together, they will have a capacity of 5.95 MTPA. The development of this project is a key step for Argentina in its efforts to become a global LNG player and to continue exploiting Vaca Muerta, the world's second-largest shale gas reservoir.

"Today's FID marks another milestone for SESA in establishing Argentina as an attractive LNG exporter and building on Golar's position as the market leading FLNG service provider. FID solidifies $8 billion of net earnings visibility over 20 years to Golar, with attractive upside potential in the FLNG commodity tariff component and through our shareholding in SESA," mentioned Karl Staubo, Golar LNG's chief executive officer.

Golar is one of the owners of the SESA project, holding a 10% interest in partnership with Pan American Energy (Calgary, Alberta) (30%), YPF (Buenos Aires, Argentina) (25%), Pampa Energia (Buenos Aires) (20%) and Harbour Energy (15%) (London, England).

So far, the project's phase 1 was favored for the Incentive Regime for Large Investment (RIGI), which grants fiscal and legal incentives for large infrastructure projects in Argentina. The Southern Energy project could reach a total of US$7 billion in investments in its lifespan.

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