Viva Energy Group Ltd. has completed MOU with two partners in its project to develop an LNG regasification terminal at the site of its Geelong refinery, 50 km west of Melbourne in southeast Australia. The partners comprise two consortiums, the first a partnership between Engie Australia & New Zealand and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and the second between Vitol and VTTI.
Under terms of the MOU, the partners will work with Viva Energy with the intention of participating in the forthcoming design and development of the gas terminal project and will work exclusively (in Australia) with Viva Energy on this terminal development. Binding commitments as to capacity, ownership in, and offtake from, the proposed terminal are not covered by the MOU, and will be sought at the time of a final investment decision (FID) to proceed.
Technical design will progress through 2021, in parallel with the regulatory approvals process. Viva Energy expects to take FID by mid-2022, with gas supply to begin in 2024. This timetable, however, remains subject to securing commercial arrangements, satisfactory completion of front-end engineering and design (FEED), and granting of regulatory and environmental approvals.
The board of Viva Energy has approved funding for the project to progress through FEED and Viva Energy has lodged its environmental effects statement referral submission with Australia’s Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning. Viva Energy has also begun the tender process for chartering a floating storage and regasification unit.
Viva Energy describes the Geelong site as having the benefit of preexisting industrial and port infrastructure within Australia’s largest gas market, providing close integration into the nearby energy infrastructure, including Victoria’s gas transmission network. While the terminal will have access to international markets, it will be also able to source LNG from domestic sources, Viva Energy said.
