WASIM IQBAL

ISLAMABAD: A Japanese company will participate in the LNG receiving infrastructure business at Bin Qasim Port Karachi.

According to Board of Investment (BoI), “As per the new initiatives, to encourage investments undertaken by the government of Pakistan, Japanese companies are being targeted to invest in different sectors.”

Mitsui & Co Ltd, a Japanese multinational company operating in multiple sectors, entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement, worth $310 million, with the Singapore-based BW Group. The Japanese company has acquired 49 percent stakes in it to jointly own a Floating Storage and Re-gasification Unit (FSRU). The unit will be located at Bin Qasim Port, Karachi. The deal is expected to close as soon as the payment for the acquisition of shares is completed.

This deal is the first FSRU project for Mitsui, and the first project for a Japanese company to participate in the LNG receiving infrastructure business in Pakistan, according to BoI.

The JV will lease the FSRU to PGP Consortium Ltd (PGPC) based on a long-term FSRU lease agreement (project), and PGPC will provide LNG re-gasification services to Pakistan LNG Terminals Ltd (PLTL), a state-owned company.

Mitsui is traditionally involved in various spheres of gas-value-chain business such as exploration, liquefaction of LNG, LNG transportation, LNG receiving terminals, on-shore gas distribution, gas-fired power plants, gas-chemical business, etc, in different parts of the world.

This is BW’s second FSRU project, with the first being a sister vessel, BW Singapore, which is currently based in Egypt on a five-year charter. BW Group is a major player in the maritime oil and gas industry, with a well-diversified fleet of over 150 vessels which includes LNG and LPG carriers, floating gas infrastructure, product tankers, FPSOs, dry bulkers and chemical tankers, and possesses a long-standing and best-in-class vessel management capabilities.

By entering into the FSRU business, Mitsui aims to further expand its presence in the gas-value-chain business in the newly emerging LNG markets, including Pakistan. Mitsui has promised to deliver a key energy infrastructure project of high national importance through this project.