Fluor has started the front-end engineering and design work for Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s (EGAT) planned floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) and associated facilities in the upper Gulf of Thailand.

“In addition to our extensive FSRU and liquefied natural gas project experience, Fluor has a proud history of executing some of Thailand’s most prominent oil and gas projects,” said Ken Choudhary, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business for the Asia-Pacific region. “We are honored to develop Thailand’s first FSRU and help meet the country’s power needs.”

EGAT is the country’s largest power producer. In order to meet the country’s increasing electricity demand, Thailand is planning to import 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to power its power plants by year 2024.

Located 20 kilometers off the coast of Thailand, the FSRU will enable LNG to be received from cargo ships and transferred as natural gas to pipelines and power plants. Fluor’s scope includes the FSRU, marine berth and jetty, and onshore and offshore pipeline connections. The front-end engineering and design is expected to be completed by the middle of 2018.

Presently, EGAT is in the process of preparing the environmental impact assessment report (EIA) and acquiring the permits from relevant government agencies for the project. Once EGAT obtains the approval for EIA and permits, the FSRU project will then go ahead.

Fluor previously provided project management services on the Klaipedos FRSU project in Lithuania and is collaborating with Sevan Marine on floating regasification dock projects. The company’s 50 years of gas processing experience includes both floating and land-based LNG regasification terminal projects.