Business Desk :
Mitsubishi Corporation will purchase a one-fourth stake in Summit LNG Terminal, a unit of Summit Power International, the Japanese conglomerate has said.
“Mitsubishi Corporation has agreed to acquire a 25 percent interest in Summit LNG Terminal Co to develop a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal that uses a floating storage and regasification unit or FSRU in Bangladesh,” it said in a statement on Friday.
With the acquisition, it said, 75 percent of Summit LNG will be held by Summit Corporation and 25 percent by Mitsubishi.
In March, Summit Power signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp to develop the $3 billion LNG-to-power project in Bangladesh.
Under the project, Summit LNG will install an FSRU, 6km off the coast of the island of Moheshkali in Cox Bazar, where it will receive and regasify LNG procured by Petrobangla, the Bangladesh oil and energy company.
Construction of the terminal started at the end of 2017 and commercial operations are expected to start in March 2019. The planned LNG import volume is approximately 3.5 MTPA, reports bdnews24.com
Bangladesh, with its expanding population, and an economic growth rate of more than 7 percent, is also seeing a rapid increase in electricity demand. While gas-based generation accounts for approximately 60 percent of total generation, domestic natural gas production is starting to decline.
Bangladesh is promoting LNG imports as part of its national energy policy. Bangladesh will start importing LNG in 2018, with a targeted import volume of 17 MTPA in 2030.
LNG receiving terminals that use FSRUs can be installed at lower cost and constructed within a shorter period than conventional onshore receiving terminals, and are an effective means to build LNG receiving capacity in emerging countries.
“The demand for such terminals is expected to grow,” Mitsubishi said in a statement.
Mitsubishi has been providing a stable supply of LNG to the market while at the same time developing its power, energy and infrastructure business globally, particularly in Asia where there is rapidly increasing energy demand, according to the statement.
In addition to this project, Summit and Mitsubishi have agreed to jointly pursue other projects across the LNG value chain in Bangladesh, from LNG supply to power generation.
