Spain's LNG terminal operator, Reganosa, has been awarded the contract to operate and maintain the 2.34 billion cubic meter/year Tema LNG regasification terminal in Ghana, currently under construction, the company announced January 7, 2021

Tema LNG Terminal Company, which owns the terminal, awarded Reganosa the contract for the O&M of the floating storage and regasification unit, as well as the associated 6 km gas pipeline and a pressure reduction and metering station connected to the existing pipeline network, which will be in the power and industrial enclave of Tema. The company did not disclose financial details.

Tema LNG, backed by Helios Investment Partners and Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers, is set to be the first offshore LNG receiving terminal in sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose-built FRU was built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

It left the Jiangnan shipyard at the end of November and was delivered to its site on January 7. It is expected to start delivering LNG to customers in the first quarter of 2021.

The FRU will be located within Tema Port, where TLTC has constructed additional marine infrastructure that will allow for cost-efficient LNG loading and regasification without affecting maritime and port traffic in the Gulf of Guinea.

LNG will be supplied under a long-term contract with Shell. The onshore reception facilities will receive the gas from the FRU via subsea pipelines, before delivering natural gas to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and its customers.

The terminal will employ the innovative combination of the FRU twinned with an existing LNG carrier to receive, store and regasify LNG, Reganosa said.

"This system provides Ghana with all the functionality of a large scale FRU-terminal, but with added flexibility, allowing it to respond to rapidly increasing domestic gas demand with a cleaner and more affordable energy solution," it said.

"The Tema LNG terminal aims to meet Ghana's growing energy demand through an innovative yet cost-efficient, reliable supply," Edmund Agyeman-Duah, the project manager of TLTC, said.

"Once operational, this FRU will allow the Tema LNG facility to receive, regasify, store and deliver roughly 1.7 million mt of LNG a year -- 30% of Ghana's general capacity."

"Tema LNG's year-round supply of gas will enable the GNPC to supply reliable and cost-effective gas into the Tema power and industrial enclave, while strengthening West Africa's energy security," Agyeman-Duah said.