Electrogas Malta places $300m order with Malaysian company to convert old LNG carrier into floating storage unit for Delimara

Fascinating, isn’t it, how we have to go to the obscurest corners of the world’s press to find out the facts about our own country.

The big news today is in a report on The Star, a Malaysian news portal.

Electrogas Malta Ltd, the company which ‘won the tender’ for the Labour Party’s (later the government’s) now-notorious new power station in Delimara has just placed a $300 million order with a Malaysian company called Bumi Armada for the conversion, supply, operation and maintenance of a floating storage unit.

That would be the giant thing that is going to sit at anchor in Delimara bay, holding the gas required to fire the power station that is already a month past its deadline without building having begun yet.

The Malaysians will be operating the floating storage unit on an ongoing basis for 18 years and two months, and not just supplying it. For this purpose, they have set up two Maltese-registered companies, Armada Floating Gas Storage Malta Ltd and Armada Floating Gas Services Malta Ltd.

You will note that Bumi Armada is not building a new floating storage unit and selling it to Electrogas Malta. Instead it is converting an old LNG (liquefied natural gas) tanker for the purpose.

I quote: Armada Floating Gas Storage has identified a liquefied natural gas carrier which had been approved by ElectroGas as the conversion vessel for this project. The acquisition of the carrier is being finalised.