LNG

Seatrium of Singapore, a leader in LNG project and ship conversions as well as platforms for conventional oil and gas ventures, was awarded a contract by Shell Offshore to construct and integrate the hull, topsides and living quarters of the Sparta semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) to be deployed in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Seatrium’s Shell contract includes the installation of Shell-furnished equipment and follows a letter of intent signed by both parties in August 2023.

The Sparta FPU will be situated in the Garden Banks area of the US Gulf of Mexico, about 275 kilometres (171 miles) off the coast of Louisiana.

Seatrium said the platform would feature a single topside bolstered by a four-column, semi-submersible floating hull and would be designed to produce 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

LNG record

Seatrium, formerly called Sembcorp Marine Ltd and renamed as Seatrium following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine, had previously in November 2023 successfully delivered the Greek “FSRU Alexandroupolis” to be deployed offshore northeast Greece as part of a Balkans LNG supply hub.

The Singaporean company also in November handed over the LNG production unit for the BP-led FLNG project offshore Senegal and Mauritanian in West Africa and also involving Dallas-based Kosmos Energy.

Analysts note that the combined Seatrium group is becoming better known in marketing terms as a single unit and provider of engineering solutions to the marine, offshore and energy sectors, particularly in assembling topsides safely and efficiently at ground level.

Seatrium said that the two-level topside for Sparta would be integrated and lifted to the hull using Seatrium’s Goliath twin cranes capable of lifting up to 30,000 tonnes.

“We are deeply honoured that Shell has awarded Sparta, the third FPU newbuild, to Seatrium, following the successful deliveries of the Vito and Whale FPUs,” said
William Gu, Executive Vice President and Head of Oil & Gas International at Seatrium.

Affirmation

“It is a strong affirmation of our team’s capabilities and the long-standing partnership between both parties. We are fully committed to executing the project well, including the single lift operation and fabrication of the FPU to meet its 20,000-psi design for use in harsh weather conditions, and delivering the unit to Shell safely and efficiently,” Gu explained.

Seatrium added that the Sparta FPU was conceived as a replicable project between Shell and Seatrium to leverage the group’s topsides single lift integration methodology, following the Vito and Whale newbuilds.

“With an extensive experience in complex offshore projects, Seatrium is well-positioned and equipped with cutting-edge technology to deliver high-quality engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) services for fixed and floating production platforms and subsea developments,” the company stated.

LNG importer Croatia is receiving European Commission aid to help the Balkan state that was formerly part of the former Yugoslavia to provide transmission system operators (TSOs) with balancing services.

The Commission approved, under EU State aid rules, a €19.8 million ($19.9M) Croatian aid measure in favour of energy storage operator IE-Energy, headquartered in Rijeka, Croatia.

The measure is aimed at helping IE-Energy to partially finance the procurement and the installation of grid-scale batteries to provide transmission system operators (TSOs) with balancing services.

“Furthermore, the measure contributes to the modernisation of Croatia's energy network, as well as to increasing the country's and the EU's energy security of supply,” added the Brussels-based European Union’s executive body.

LNG expansion

The grant comes as the Croatian Government is planning to invest €180M in a new gas pipeline section that would help double capacity at its LNG floating storage and regasification unit located off the Adriatic Sea island of Krk.

Croatia, which became a member of the EU in 2013, received its first LNG cargo in January 2021 at the FSRU, the “LNG Croatia”.

Under government plans, a €155M gas pipeline extension will connect Zlobin and Bosiljevo in northwest Croatia in about three years’ time when the FSRU’s capacity will be boosted to 6.1 billion cubic metres per annum of regasified LNG from the current 2.6 Bcm.

The Commission said its TSO grant for balancing would further contribute to the modernisation of Croatia's energy network, as well as to increasing the country's and the EU's energy security of supply.

“The aid was also is proportionate as it is limited to the minimum necessary, and that it will not have undue negative effects on competition and trade between member states,” it added.

North Macedonia, previously a republic of the former Yugoslavia, said it would soon start construction of a natural gas pipeline interconnector to southern neighbour Greece to enable the import of US LNG cargoes via the floating import facility planned for offshore the Greek port of Alexandroupolis.

March 26 (LNGJ) - Greek LNG developer Gastrade said the binding phase of a market test for reservation of capacity at the floating LNG terminal proposed for offshore  Alexandroupolis in northeastern Greece was successfully completed. “With an aggregate long-term profile of binding offers for up to 15 years, reaching 2.6 billion cubic metres per year, Greek and international natural gas companies, as well as end-consumers, confirmed their interest in the reservation of regasification capacity at the FSRU terminal,” said Gastrade.

   LNG delivered to the terminal will be regasified and transmitted to the markets of Greece and the region via the Greek National Natural Gas Transmission System. Konstantinos Spyropoulos, Managing Director of Gastrade, said the process was a critical step towards “the enhancement of energy diversification and security of supply in Greece, the Balkans and the wider southeast European area”. 

Gastrade, a Greek utility company and developer of the Alexandroupolis floating LNG terminal, has launched the second phase of a market test for the project to gauge demand in Greece and the Balkan states.

June 21 (LNGJ) – Future LNG importer Croatia has purchased control of nine Northern Adriatic and Marica area gas fields offshore the Balkan state from Italian energy company Eni. The Croatia state-backed company INI has agreed to buy Eni Croatia BV and become the 100 percent owner and sole operator of the fields. The transaction covers production of almost 380,000 cubic metres per day of gas and marks Eni’s exit from Croatian exploration and production. Eni and INA had previously worked in a 50-50 joint venture since 1996 under a production-sharing agreement with the Croatian government. Eni said the sale of gas to Italy from the Marica area would continue under a commercial agreement. Other stakeholders in INA are the Croatian government with 44.8 percent and private and institutional investors with just over 6 percent. The Hungarian MOL energy group owns 49.1 percent of INI.