Golar LNG signs agreement to provide floating LNG Vessel for 20 years

Golar LNG, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, said it partnered with Pan American Energy to deploy a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel for 20 years to export from Argentina.

Golar will have a 10% stake in Southern Energy, a joint venture with Pan American, which will be responsible for purchasing Argentine natural gas, operations, and the sale of liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes.

The project aims to leverage the Vaca Muerta formation in the Neuquina Basin, the second-largest shale gas resource in the world, and begin LNG exports by 2027, Golar said in a statement.

Energy companies from Argentina and Brazil began talks earlier this year to address the regional fuel deficit, considering exporting gas from the Vaca Muerta formation by reversing the direction of a Bolivian gas pipeline network that has transported gas south.

The project, which will utilize Golar's FLNG Hilli with a capacity of 2.45 million tons per year, is touted as the first phase of a potential multi-vessel project, expected to be joined by other natural gas producers in Argentina, according to the statement.

In 2019, the southern country exported some LNG shipments from the 'FLNG Tango' liquefaction vessel, located in the city of Bahía Blanca, south of Buenos Aires, said an industry source.

LNG prices reached an all-time high in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but have fallen to their lowest level in nearly three years due to weaker-than-expected demand from a mild winter and large reserves in the United States, Europe, and Japan.