Sri Lankan government floats tender for leased floating storage and regasification unit
The government of Sri Lanka is reportedly trying to advance its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import plans, with state owned utility, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) inviting bids for a leased floating storage and regasification unit to be set up at Kerawalapitiya.
The CEB is reportedly in the market for an FRSU on a build-own-operate basis, while the associated mooring system — mooring, flowline and umbilical to the pipeline end manifold (PLEM) control system — is being sought on a build-own-operate-transfer basis, the state owned Daily News has reported.
The request for proposal (RFP) calls for a vessel with regasification capacity of 380 million cubic feet per day of gas and minimum storage capacity of 156,000 cubic meters at “100% filling level”.
Regasified volumes are intended for power plants in Kerawalapitiya and the vicinity of the capital Colombo, the news report noted.
According to the report, the successful bidder would be required to design, finance, procure, construct, deliver, commission, operate and maintain the FSRU and mooring system, the latter being transferred to the CEB at the end of the 10-year contractual term.
The contractor will also be tasked with securing all the necessary environmental clearances, governmental approvals and statutory licences for the proposed LNG import project and the deadline for proposals is 18 June 2021 and bidders will have to provide a US$ 2.5 million proposal security.
The CEB is looking at awarding the contract around year-end.
Sri Lanka is now eyeing a transition to a gas-based power generation by tapping the LNG market and any potential domestic gas production, which could be developed in the medium-term.
“The state-run Ceylon Electricity Board has decided to convert power plants that are run on furnace oil and diesel to natural gas and has recently floated a tender for the construction of a gas pipeline to distribute it to the plants,” Sri Lanka’s Minister of Energy, Udaya Gammanpila has been quoted as saying in the Daily News.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s power and energy sectors are hotspots for business/investment opportunities in the country. The looming power crisis and the growing demand for energy have opened up spaces for foreign businesses/investors. Also, there are new business opportunities in Sri Lanka’s energy sector given the country’s target of becoming a maritime hub in the Indian Ocean. The island’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a hub in the South Asian region.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20210315/Z_7 |