NGW Magazine: SOCAR ends Malta's isolation

By  Azertac 

SOCAR has delivered a commissioning LNG cargo to Malta; it is a part of Azerbaijan’s strategy to develop an overseas trading business and put its eggs into more baskets.

Notably, Electrogas Malta consortium, in which SOCAR Trading holds 33%, involved the construction of a 200MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT), as well as receiving, storage and regasification facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG). It was developed at the Delimara Power Station (DPS) site near Marsaxlokk in south-east Malta.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) approved the 480 million EUR project in March 2014.

Construction and installation of the CCGT and LNG facilities took 18 months to complete. Once operational, it is likely to meet approximately 50% of Malta's electricity demand.

Natural gas is supplied through the regasification unit. SOCAR Trading will supply the LNG and equipment for the process.

The new gas-fired combined-cycle power plant is part of the Maltese Government's initiative to switch to less expensive natural gas and reduce the dependence on heavy fuel oil for power production.

Natural gas is supplied through the regasification unit, which will receive LNG from a floating storage unit (FSU) moored to a jetty. The regasification facility is located on the southern tip of the power station, while the jetty is situated to the south-west of the same facility.

The FSU, which is provided by SOCAR Trading on a lease for 18 years, is docked in Delimara, Malta, and is estimated to have a capacity of 125,000m³.