Phoenix advances Firebird LNG project in Suriname
Firebird LNG, a joint venture of Houston-based Phoenix Development Holding Company and Idaho’s MAD Energy, said August 3 it had advanced its project to gather associated natural gas – now being flared – from oil production facilities offshore Suriname and Guyana in South America and liquefy it at an onshore facility.
The project is now fully funded through to final investment decision, Firebird CEO Walter Teter said, and project supporters now hope to have the 4mn mt/yr LNG facility operational by the end of 2024, providing another option for meeting global natural gas demand.
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“With so much of the world in turmoil, the Firebird project has the advantage of being located in a country free of conflict and governed by a parliamentary democracy,” MAD Energy CEO Georte Wentz said. “We think that kind of stability will be a real asset for us and for our customers.”
Firebird is the centrepiece of an ambitious and constantly-evolving deep water port and gas hub being developed by Phoenix. It is underpinned by an open access pipeline that would gather associated gas from all producers in the Suriname-Guyana basin and deliver it onshore, either to gas-to-power markets or to the liquefaction plant, which will be built near Nickerie, Suriname.
“As the anchor project of the deep-water port, the liquefaction plant will represent the single largest onshore industrial investment in Suriname to date,” Teter said.
Initial capacity of the LNG facility is set at 4mn mt/yr, but it could be expanded if demand warrants. Associated gas resources in the Suriname-Guyana basin have been estimated at some 35 trillion ft3, well in excess of what the initial Firebird LNG project will require.
In addition, the LNG facility could be configured to also produce hydrogen, which would be primarily marketed in Europe.