The floating natural gas storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Prometheas is currently undergoing the last technical inspections and the necessary tests in China and, if everything goes well, without any unforeseen events that would postpone the delivery of the vessel, the Republic of Cyprus will take delivery at the end of October or early November.
The many technical problems that were identified during the initial checks carried out by Cosco technicians have been largely overcome, as is expected to be the case for the malfunctions that are expected to be identified for the test runs for the regasification of LNG from the FSRU.
Cosco and by extension, the consortium under CPP, which is executing the Vasilikos LNG terminal project, are now rushing to complete the work and deliver Prometheas to the Republic of Cyprus in order to get rid of the cost of berthing and the costly insurance of the vessel.
These costs are likely to be passed on to the Republic of Cyprus if the FSRU is not operationally utilized for many months, possibly beyond 12 months, as the terminal at Vasilikos will not be ready for LNG receipt and regasification before the end of 2024 under the best of circumstances.
They’re thinking about it in the Emirates
In order to ensure that Prometheas is not left unused for so long, the Ministry of Energy continues to consider leasing it, on a fast-track basis, to another state or company for use in regasification elsewhere, until the time comes for it to be used for Cypriot needs.
Information from the Energy Ministry says that during his recent trip to Abu Dhabi, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou received interest from state officials in the United Arab Emirates, who are ready to discuss renting the ship for their own needs.
From the government side, it is reported that the pier at Vasilikos, where Prometheas will dock to receive LNG from LNG carriers, will be ready in the summer of 2024. Even if there are no further delays in the project, the terminal’s operation in the summer of 2024 or even by the end of the year seems very remote.
That’s because there is still a lot of infrastructure left to be built beyond the pier, such as the pipelines that will connect the FSRU to the infrastructure on the coast and, most importantly, the pipelines that will transport the gas from the terminal site to the EAC station and the neighboring private company PEC station, which is currently under construction.