France’s TotalEnergies, one of the world’s largest LNG players, said that French and European firms have shown high interest to secure capacities at the planned FSRU-based facility in Le Havre following a market test.
TotalEnergies LNG Services France (TELSF), a unit of TotalEnergies, is working to install France’s first FSRU-based facility in Le Havre, adding to the four existing onshore terminals.
The firm ran a non-binding call of interest from January 16 to 30 for up to 2.5 Bcm per year of capacity for a period of five years.
“Demand expressed during the market test significantly exceeded available capacity,” according to a social media post by TotalEnergies Green Gases and LNG.
“This success illustrates market’s appetite for additional LNG regasification capacity to meet French demand as well as the need to strengthen the security of gas supply,” it said.
TotalEnergies said in a statement issued later on Monday that “several market players expressed a high level of interest” for an aggregated amount close to 12 Bcm per year over the five-year period.
It added that the company’s unit is planning to launch the binding capacity call in March.
The FSRU project in Le Havre will allow France to increase its regasification capacity by around 5 Bcm per year while TotalEnergies plans to reserve about 50 percent of this capacity.
The French firm previously said that the 2009-built 145,130-cbm, Cape Ann, will serve the Le Havre facility.
TotalEnergies charters Cape Ann from Hoegh LNG, such as Neptune that serves the new Deutsche ReGas FSRU-based terminal in Lubmin.
Hoegh LNG Partners, now 100 percent owned by Hoegh LNG, has a 50 percent stake in Cape Ann.
Japan’s MOL owns a 48.5 percent stake while Tokyo LNG Tanker has a 1.5 percent stake.
Besides the FSRU, Paris-based LNG engineering giant Technip Energies won a contract last year from TotalEnergies to provide a marine loading arm for the Le Havre facility.
The firm will install the offloading solution on Bougainville dock in Le Havre.
TotalEnergies will operate the FSRU while GRTgaz will operate the connecting pipeline to the gas transmission network.
Following completion of the jetty and the capacity bookings, TotalEnergies is looking to launch the FSRU-based facility in September this year.
(Updated with a statement by TotalEnergies.)