EXMAR Secures 10 Year FSRU Lease for Côte d’Ivoire LNG Import Project

EXMAR has entered agreements to supply a Floating Storage & Regasification Unit at the Port of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire. The arrangement covers a 10 year lease for the vessel, along with associated operation and maintenance services.

The FSRU will have a regasification capacity of 250MMcf/d. It is intended to give Côte d’Ivoire access to imported LNG as the country works to meet growing electricity demand and supplement supplies from domestic gas production.

The agreements involve Côte d’Ivoire Energies, known as CI-Energies, and Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire, known as Petroci. Both organizations will have defined roles in moving imported gas into the country’s power generation system.

Petroci plans to purchase LNG from international markets and import the cargoes through the FSRU. Imports through the vessel are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2027.

The unit will provide storage capacity for 152,000 cu m of LNG. After regasification, the resulting gas volumes will be delivered to CI-Energies for use in power generation.

Côte d’Ivoire has emerged as one of West Africa’s leading natural gas producers. Even so, rapidly rising power demand and periodic gas supply constraints have led the country to pursue imported LNG as a supplemental source of energy.

The project is designed to help address increasing demand for both gas and electricity in Côte d’Ivoire. It is also intended to support demand in neighboring countries, extending the planned role of the import infrastructure beyond the domestic market.

According to EXMAR, President Alassane Ouattara assigned the project priority status at the beginning of his fourth term earlier this year. The designation comes as the country seeks additional gas supplies for electricity generation.

Floating import infrastructure has become a popular entry route for emerging nations seeking access to LNG. FSRUs can be deployed faster and with lower capital costs than permanent LNG import terminals constructed onshore.

For Côte d’Ivoire, the planned vessel provides a route for receiving LNG sourced from global markets without first developing a conventional permanent terminal. The 10 year lease also includes EXMAR’s involvement in operating and maintaining the unit.

The Abidjan project reflects continuing demand for floating LNG infrastructure. It also connects international LNG supply with a West African market that is balancing domestic gas production against expanding electricity requirements and periodic supply limitations.

Separately, EXMAR has secured Approval in Principle from Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore for a Floating Liquefied Natural Gas concept. The proposed FLNG facility would be created by converting an existing membrane type LNG carrier for operation in mild environments.

The converted vessel would provide offshore gas processing, liquefaction and LNG storage. Its planned storage capacity is around 170,000 cu m, while the design life of the facility would be 25 years.

EXMAR said the FLNG concept is aimed at stranded gas resources and projects seeking lower upfront capital requirements. The company also identified the potential to shorten the period between a final investment decision and first production.

The concept is intended for offshore developments containing stranded or smaller gas resources. Such resources may not support construction of a conventional onshore LNG export facility, making a converted floating unit an alternative approach for processing, liquefaction and storage.

Together, the Côte d’Ivoire FSRU agreement and the approved FLNG conversion concept highlight EXMAR’s focus on floating LNG infrastructure. One addresses LNG imports and power generation, while the other targets offshore resources that may not justify conventional export developments.