South America’s First LNG Plant Begins Operation

On June 10 the first natural gas liquefaction plant in South America was officially inaugurated. At US$3.8 billion in investment, PERU LNG represents the largest investment in one single project ever made in Peru.
  The Melchorita Plant, located in Melchorita, Peru, has a nominal capacity of 4.4 MMt/a and will process 620 MMcf/d of natural gas.
  Startup of the plant also incorporates the commissioning of a 408-km pipeline and a marine terminal capable of receiving tankers of 90,000 to 173,000 m3 each. Once completed the pipeline will provide up to 550 MMcf/d of transport capacity for the Peruvian market.
  In addition, two large storage tanks at the site each stores 130,000 m3 of LNG.
  Four energy companies form the PERU LNG consortium that developed, built and operate the plant:  Hunt Oil Company of the United States, with a 50% participating interest; SK Energy of South Korea, with a 20% participating interest; Repsol of Spain, also with a 20% participating interest; and Marubeni Corporation of Japan, with a 10% participating interest.
  Several contractors were hired to make this project a reality: Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I), in charge of the plant’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC); the CDB consortium (Saipem, Jan de Nul and Odebrecht), in charge of the marine terminal engineering, procurement and construction (EPC); and Techint, responsible for installation of the pipeline. Several Peruvian  companies also contributed to the project, including Grana & Montero, Cosapi, Translei, Minera San Martin, Cosmos, Aceros Arequipa, Tecnicas Metalicas, Esmetal and Sima, among many others.