King & Spalding advised Pacific LNG Operations, Ltd., on the commercial framework agreement and related project agreements among Pacific LNG, InterOil Corporation, Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd. (LNGL), Flex LNG Ltd. (FLNG) and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., governing the terms for the development, construction, financing and operation of a planned floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) production unit in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea.
All agreements are conditional upon FLNG shareholder approval of certain firm and conditional equity issuances to Pacific LNG and InterOil. LNGL is a joint-venture project company owned by Pacific LNG and InterOil. The FLNG vessel is expected to be moored alongside a jetty that will be shared with LNGL’s land-based LNG facilities. It will have a production capacity of up to 2 million tons of LNG per annum and process an estimated 2.25 trillion cubic feet of gas over a 25-year period.
The project will become the world’s first floating LNG production unit to go into service when it commences operations on its target start-up date of mid-2014. FLNG has completed the generic front-end engineering and design (FEED). The project specific FEED is targeted to start in May 2011, with the parties to work towards reaching a final investment decision before the end of 2011. The FLNG shareholder approvals are targeted to occur by the end of April 2011. The agreements are the result of a strong collaboration over the past 12 months among the parties to work together to develop the groundbreaking floating LNG production project.
The King & Spalding lawyers assisting Pacific LNG on this project are partner Dan Rogers (Singapore), partner Jonathan Martin (London), counsel Nina Howell (London) and associate Jacqueline Bredhauer (Singapore).
King & Spalding is a leader in the international liquefied natural gas industry and has been described by Chambers Global as “a premier LNG project development practice.” The firm recently received the “Gold Award” as the best U.S. law firm in the project finance, infrastructure and energy category at the International Legal Alliance Summit and Awards 2010 in Paris, France. King & Spalding previously advised on the world’s first floating LNG regasification vessels. The firm is presently advising on six LNG production and export projects and has served as lead counsel for numerous new-construction LNG terminals and expansions to existing LNG terminals around the world.
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Source: King & Spalding, April 11, 2011;