Harbour Energy and its Southern Energy partners will move ahead with a project calling for the deployment of two floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessels offshore Argentina.
Harbour announced 2 May that the company and partners in the project had reached final investment decision (FID) for the Southern Energy FLNG export project which targets production startup from the Hilli Episeyo vessel around year-end 2027 with the MK II vessel expected to begin operations at the end of 2028.
Together, the two FLNG vessels have 5.95 mtpa nameplate capacity, or about 1 Bcf/D of natural gas from the Vaca Muerta formation. The Southern Energy project is one of several LNG projects the formation will supply.
The FLNG Hilli and FLNG MK II vessels will be located close to each other in the Gulf of San Matias Gulf offshore the province of Rio Negro, Argentina. FLNG Hilli will initially use spare volumes from the existing pipeline network. Southern Energy intends to facilitate a dedicated pipeline to be constructed from Vaca Muerta to the Gulf of San Matias to supply gas to the FLNGs.
Southern Energy partners include Pan American Energy with 30%, YPF with 25%, Pampa Energia with 20%, Harbour Energy with 15%, and Golar LNG with 10% interest.
FLNG Focus
Golar announced 2 May all conditions required to redeploy the FLNG Hilli had been met. In July 2024, it announced that it had entered into an agreement with Pan American Energy for a 20-year deployment of the FLNG Hilli, which also gave Golar a 10% stake in Southern Energy. FLNG Hilli has a nameplate capacity of 2.45 mtpa.
Golar said in September 2024 it had signed an engineering, procurement, and construction deal with CIMC Raffles for the MKII FLNG vessel with an annual liquefaction capacity of 3.5 mtpa.
FLNG Hilli is under contract to Perenco offshore Cameroon through July 2026. The vessel will relocate to Argentina for the 2-decade Southern Energy contract, with the contract expected to start in mid-2027, according to Golar.
Additionally, Golar has signed agreements with Southern Energy for a 20-year charter for the MKII FLNG vessel, which is under conversion at CIMC Raffles.
Black & Veatch is providing its PRICO technology, performing detailed engineering and process design, specifying and procuring topside equipment, and providing commissioning support for the FLNG topsides and liquefaction process.
The MK II design is an evolution of the MK I design of FLNG Hilli and is based on the conversion of an existing LNG carrier to an FLNG vessel.
Golar said the FLNG MKII charter is subject to FID and the same regulatory approvals as the FLNG Hilli project.
The project, according to Golar, has received all necessary approvals, including an unrestricted 30-year LNG export authorization, qualification for the incentive regime for large investments, and provincial approval by the province of Río Negro for the offshore and onshore environmental impact assessments for FLNG Hilli.
