McDermott, Chiyoda and Zachry Group Announce First Cargo from Freeport LNG Train 2

• First cargo of liquefied natural gas shipped from Train 2 of the Freeport LNG project
• Project team maintains a continuous focus on safety and quality
• Accomplishment is a precursor to substantial completion of Train 2

Below is the full press release from McDermott

HOUSTON, Dec. 18, 2019 McDermott International, Inc. along with its partners, Chiyoda International Corporation and Zachry Group, announced today that the first commissioning cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been shipped from Train 2 of the Freeport LNG project on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas. Production of LNG from Train 2 was announced on Dec. 6 and today's announcement of first cargo is a precursor to substantial completion of Train 2.

"The ongoing momentum of this project has accelerated us past multiple accomplishments, including Train 1's introduction of feed gas, first liquid and first cargo. And, we are well on our way toward commercial operation for Train 2," said Mark Coscio, McDermott's Senior Vice President for North, Central and South America. "I commend the project team for delivering these results and getting us closer to substantial completion."

Zachry Group, as the joint venture lead, partnered with McDermott for the Pre-FEED in 2011, followed by FEED works to support the early development stage of the project as a one-stop shop solution provider for Trains 1 and 2. Later Chiyoda joined the joint venture partnership for work related to Train 3. The project scope includes three pre-treatment trains, a liquefaction facility with three trains, a second loading berth and a 165,000 m3 full containment LNG storage tank.

Freeport LNG Trains 2 and 3 remain on schedule with Train 3 initial production of LNG scheduled for Q1 of 2020.

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Ophir lost in space

Ophir’s Equatorial Guinea Fortuna FLNG project faces further uncertainty as the government threatens to pass the Block R licence which contains the gas field to another company in December when it expires. It has given Ophir an ultimatum to present a firm financing plan and progress the FLNG project.

The FLNG concept is still relatively new technology and together with the geography, Ophir has found it challenging to raise bank financing or secure partners over the past few years when the global LNG outlook was uncertain. With the improving LNG demand outlook, Ophir now faces competition from US LNG which has accelerated miles ahead.

The government has not named who it will pass the licence to in December, but this could be the likes of Perenco, who started export at its own FLNG project in Cameroon earlier this year, or Kosmos who is pursuing the Tortue FLNG project with BP in Mauritania/Senegal.

Shortly after the government’s intention were made public, Ophir announced that it had entered into a farm-out agreement on its EG-24 licence in Equatorial Guinea to Kosmos, further lending credence to the hinted company being Kosmos. Under the farm-out, Kosmos will acquire a 40% non-operated interest and fully carry the cost of a block 3D seismic survey. For Kosmos, the deal supplements its recently acquired positions in Okume and Ceiba back in 2017.

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Cameroon FLNG: Hilli Episeyo ships first FLNG cargo

The Hilli Episeyo FLNG project has exported its first LNG cargo, destined for China, and is on the way to producing its second cargo.

It is the first FLNG project to take off in Africa and could pave the way for future projects in Equatorial Guinea (Ophir's Fortuna project) and Mauritania (BP/Kosmos).

FLNG technology was been pursued by Golar after the cost of land based LNG projects soared. Golar has been converting old LNG tankers into liquefaction units and the Hilli Episeyo will be important to demonstrate the viability of FLNG as a solution to stranded gas.

All of the gas at the Cameroon Hilli Episeyo project is sold to Gazprom's trading arm for a period of 8 years. The capacity of the project is 1.2mmtpa.

#Perenco

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Tortue unitisation across Mauritania and Senegal

The governments of Mauritania and Senegal have signed an Inter-Governmental Cooperation Agreement in another step forward for the Tortue gas development which straddles the border of the two countries. The field will now be unitised with an initial split of resources 50:50 and a mechanism for future equity redeterminations based on actual production and other technical data.

FID of the field remains on track, targeting year end 2018 with first gas in 2021. The BP-led joint venture is looking at a near-shore FLNG concept which will reduce costs significantly.

The unitised ownership will be BP 61% operator, Kosmos 29%, and government partners retaining the remaining 10%.

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