Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that its subsidiary, Lakler S.A., has signed a long-term charter contract with Gas Sayago, a joint venture between Uruguay's state oil company ANCAP and state power company UTE, for a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project. “The contract will take effect upon governmental approval which is expected to be granted by the end of 2016.”
The $376 million FSRU will be equipped with the largest LNG storage tank (263,000-CM) of any FSRU in the world, and supply gas to Uruguay and its neighboring countries, MOL said, adding that the FSRU is currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
“After completion, it will enter 20 years charter starting in the first half of 2018” as it is capable to import up to 4 MMT/Y of LNG (540 MMCF/D of gas).
The FSRU, to be located about 2-Km from Uruguay's coast, is capable to re-load LNG cargo to shuttle tankers as well as sending gas through pipelines. These specifications allow LNG re-export services and LNG bunkering services to the country and its neighboring regions.
Earlier, Uruguayan government had announced that Argentina has agreed to buy 70% of the send-out capacity (7 MMCM/D of gas) from its floating LNG imports terminal as the regasified LNG is to be delivered over an existing pipeline into Buenos Aires. Backgrounds:

On 5-Feb-2014, GDF Suez (now Engie) announced that the French company and its Japanese partner, Marubeni, have chartered a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) which will be the world’s largest upon commissioning to be used for the GNL del Plata LNG import terminal project in Uruguay.
The Uruguay FSRU will be 345-M long and 55-M wide, giving the GNL del Plata terminal a long-term storage capacity of 263,000-CM and regasification capacity of 10 MMCM/D, expandable to 15 MMCM/D, GDF Suez said in its statement.
“It will be moored 4-Km offshore from Montevideo, at the GNL del Plata terminal, which will have the capacity to receive LNG carriers of up to 218,000-CM.”
The FSRU has been chartered from an affiliate of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and is being constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, the French operator said, adding that until the delivery of the new FSRU in late 2016, the shuttle regasification vessel, GDF Suez Neptune SRV, will be used as a bridge solution, enabling commercial operation of the terminal to commence in 2015.
On 4-Sep-2015, Uruguayan energy minister Carolina Cosse said that GNL del Plata consortium has cancelled its plan for utilizing of the world's largest FSRU for the country’s LNG import plan.
However, a separate project could still go ahead later using a smaller FSRU moored near Montevideo, Cosse has reminded, adding that the consortium (Marubeni-Engie) would pay a penalty of $100 million to Gas Sayago in order to get out of the project and the Uruguayan company will also retain all assets generated so far by GNL del Plata.
She added that an onshore pipeline has been built for transporting the imported LNG supplies, and that more than 90% of dredging works have been completed for docking the terminal and allowing vessels to deliver cargoes.
On 18-Nov-2015, Uruguayan minister of economy and finances Daniel Astori said that the county has reached an initial agreement with Mitsui to continue building a floating regasification terminal as the both sides agreed "to jointly seek new ways to make this experience feasible," with a decision to be made in March.
Astori has admitted that changes to the project were expected, based on a lower-than-expected forecast for domestic gas demand. When Uruguay started the project, there were expectations it could use about half the terminal's initial sendout capacity of 10 MMCM/D, which would later be expanded to 15 MMCM/D.
However, a surge in the installation of biomass, solar and wind power plants as well as steady hydropower output since has cut the expected need for gas as a power plant fuel. That means the country will have to sell excess gas from the project to Argentina and Brazil, Astori said, adding the amount has yet to be determined.