A long-awaited tender for a floating storage and regasification unit that will be used to provide Cyprus with its first LNG imports has given budget and timeline details of the project that will dictate the type of regas unit that will deployed.

Those working closely on the tender said the FSRU is “unlikely to be a newbuilding”, partly as it will need to be in operation by the end of November 2020.

They explained that there is an estimated budget for the project of around $300m, with EUR 101m ($117m) of this having been secured in January from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility .

Several shipowners and FSRU providers have been waiting eagerly for the details of this project which some feel is best suited to either an LNG carrier-to-an-FSRU conversion. An existing, uncommitted FSRU is a third option.

The project is being likened to Croatia LNG’s ongoing tender for an FSRU which is also moving ahead with EU funding, albeit with several key delays.

But project participants say Cyprus has a key advantage in that it has a “captive gas consumer” in the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) which will use the imported gas to supply its Vasilikos Power Station on the country’s central southern coastline.

Newbuilds unlikely as LNG Croatia puts price cap on regas unit

The Natural Gas Public Company of Cyprus (DEFA) finally sent out tender documents for the import terminal at Vasilikos Bay, near Limassol at the end of last week.

DEFA is asking companies to offer in on for the design, construction and operation of the new facility. This will involve procuring an FSRU of at least 125,000-cbm and providing a facility that can accept visiting LNG carriers of between 120,000-cbm to 217,000-cbm.

Bidders will also need to construct both the onshore and offshore infrastructure required for the project including a 1.3-kilometre long jetty.

Under earlier plans, a separate tender was to be floated for infrastructure.

DEFA is also considering using the import facility for regional supply and LNG bunkering.