BW, Mitsui to Jointly Own Pakistan's No.2 FSRU
Singapore-based shipowner BW Group and Japan's Mitsui & Co have formed a joint venture to jointly own the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), BW Integrity.
While Mitsui has purchased a 49% share in BW Integrity, BW continues to own a 51% share in the vessel, the two companies said in joint press note release November 14. BW will continue to provide commercial and technical management services.
BW Integrity is currently in Port Qasim on a 15-year charter to PGP Consortium (PGPC), to provide LNG regasification services at Pakistan’s second LNG import terminal. The International Energy Agency's 'Gas 2017' report published this summer said that its import/regas capacity would be 7.9bn m3/yr and that it was scheduled to start receiving LNG in 2H2017.
The FSRU was originally slated to start operating in June. According to Pakistani media reports, PGPC has held the government responsible for the delay. It says that a 400-metre state-owned pipeline was not completed, leading to delays in the commissioning of the three regasified LNG-fuelled 1,200MW power plants in the populous northern Pakistan province of Punjab.
“BW Integrity represents BW’s commitment to provide customers with high quality floating solutions for LNG and we are proud to team up with Mitsui to further enhance our delivery. BW Integrity is ready to serve Pakistan’s energy needs for the next 15 years,” BW LNG’s MD Yngvil Asheim said. The ship was officially named at the South Korean shipyard where it was built in January 2017.
BW Integrity will be Pakistan’s second FSRU; the first having been Excelerate-run Exquisite which began operations in March 2015. Both are based at Port Qasim near Karachi.
Mitsui’s chief operating officer of its Integrated Transportation Systems Business Unit II, Takeshi Setozaki said: “The opportunity for us to enter the FSRU business is a very big step forward for our future business strategy. As a LNG receiving/regasification base project is an extension of the LNG shipping business area, it is important to acquire know-how of the FSRU business and to maintain effective relationships with partners like BW.”
Shardul Sharma