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Japan’s shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has struck a finance deal for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which will be deployed in Singapore, Asia.
While revealing its latest step toward further growth in the offshore business, Takeshi Hashimoto , MOL’s President & CEO, announced the signing of a project finance agreement with a banking syndicate, including the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), DBS Bank Ltd. (DBS), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) (SCB).
This deal is for a newbuild floating storage and regasification unit to be operated by Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG) as the second liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Singapore. The FSRU project is perceived to mark the first deployment of an FSRU in Singapore, where the nation relies on imported natural gas for approximately 95% of its domestic power generation.
The firm elaborated: “This financing was made possible through the convergence of MOL’s mission to support customers in diversifying LNG procurement and ensuring a stable supply via FSRU projects; JBIC’s commitment to supporting the business expansion of Japanese companies in Asia; and the initiatives of JBIC, MUFG, DBS, OCBC, and SCB, which prioritize advancing the energy transition and contributing to decarbonization across the region.”
This project is said to be aligned with MOL’s vision and management plan, ‘ Blue Action 2035 ,’ which promotes the expansion of both shipping and non-shipping businesses, as well as the strategy of “expanding low-carbon and decarbonized businesses through a concerted group-wide effort” outlined in the ‘ MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.2 .’
Earlier this year, the company and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) secured approval in principle (AiP) from Lloyd’s Register for the design of a 174,000-cubic meter (cbm) LNG carrier (LNGC) equipped with Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology.