Norwegian LNG firm Golar is loading its Golar Nanook floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Cameroon as the company prepares to commission a ground-breaking regasification terminal in northern Brazil.
The cargo will be used for acceptance testing in coming months, as the 1.5GW Porto de Sergipe thermoelectric plant also prepares for commissioning. The plant is under contract to start generating power on 1 January 2020.
The Sergipe project is Brazil's first private-sector LNG-to-power project. The country's two operating regasification terminals at Pecem and Bahia are owned by state-controlled Petrobras.
In its 2018 earnings report, Golar said the installation of the mooring, assembly of the power plant and construction of transmission lines for the Porto de Sergipe LNG-to-power project in Sergipe state remain on schedule.
Golar added that it is advancing discussions to use some of Nanook's spare capacity to supply potential buyers in the region.
Natural gas distributors in northeastern Brazil are seeking 9.4mn m3/d of natural gas in a joint tender offer announced last year that will receive proposals until 12 April. The distributors have been encouraged by the potential for LNG supply to the region.
Golar is also awaiting final environmental approval for a 15mn m3/d regasification terminal project in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
Likewise, it recently received site approval for the installation of an LNG terminal at the port of Barcarena, in Para state on the lower Amazon basin. The project involves the construction of a gas-fired thermoelectric plant, which is expected to participate in a future government auction for new thermoelectric generation capacity.
The 170,000m³ Golar Nanook is under a 26-year contract with Celse, a 50:50 joint venture between Golar Power and EBrasil Electricidade do Brasil.
