Fluor Corp. said it has started the front-end engineering and design work for a planned floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) and associated facilities in the upper Gulf of Thailand.
The facility is proposed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the country’s largest power producer, Fluor said in its statement.
In order to meet the country’s increasing electricity demand, Thailand is planning to import 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to power its power plants by the year 2024.
Located 20 kilometers off the coast of Thailand, the FSRU will enable LNG to be received from cargo ships and transferred as natural gas to pipelines and power plants.
Fluor’s scope includes the FSRU, marine berth and jetty, and onshore and offshore pipeline connections.
The front-end engineering and design is expected to be completed by the middle of 2018, the company said.
Presently, EGAT is in the process of preparing the environmental impact assessment report (EIA) and acquiring the permits from relevant government agencies for the project. Once EGAT obtains the approval for EIA and permits, the FSRU project will go ahead, the statement reads.