PARIS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- French energy company GDF Suez said Wednesday it signed a 15-year contract in Uruguay to build and operate a liquefied natural gas processing plant.
GDF said the offshore terminal, dubbed GNL del Plata, would consist of a floating regasification unit and be able to receive as much as 7.6 million cubic feet of natural gas from carriers, which will be reserved by national energy company Gas Sayago.
Commercial operations are scheduled for 2015.
GDF said the regasification facility is part of plan by the government of Uruguay to bring in more clean fuel resources from the international market. It will also offset some of the oil the country currently imports.
"GNL del Plata marks our entry into the Uruguayan market and further expands our presence in Latin America," Gerard Mestrallet, chairman GDF Suez, said in a statement. "LNG demand in the region is expected to more than double within the next 10 years and this terminal will allow us to support the development of the LNG industry and to strengthen our global LNG footprint and experience."
GNL del Plata will be situated offshore near the coast of Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital.
