Golar LNG Ltd. was awarded the Gas Atacama Mejillones Seaport’s floating storage and regasification (FSRU) project in Chile.

The initial term of the contract, in Gas Atacama’s option, is for 15 or 20 years and is expected to generate an average annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately $48 million for the 15-year charter or $47 million for the 20-year charter. Gas Atacama has three, five-year contract extension options, representing a potential 15 additional years of commitments.

The FSRU will be moored approximately 1.6 km (1.0 mi) and in approximately 50 m (164 ft) water depth in the Bay of Mejillones. The newbuild FSRU will be capable of storing 170,000 cu m of LNG and delivering approximately 180 million cu ft per day (MMcf/d) of regasified LNG and will be delivered to the project in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The regasified LNG will be delivered via Gas Atacama's subsea pipeline and is intended primarily to supply the on-shore 780MW Central Térmica Atacama thermal power plant. Regasified LNG also could be used to the meet the demands of some of GasAtacama's mining customers, as well as other power generators. Parties have agreed to the possibility for further expansion of the FSRU regasification capacity of up 360 MMcf/d.