Dutch dredging, offshore and heavylift company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V.  has been awarded a major contract to connect an offshore Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU)  to an onshore power plant in El Salvador.

The contract was awarded by Energia del Pacifico (EDP), a 378-MW liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-power infrastructure project at the Port of Acajutla, El Salvador. The project will commence early 2020 and is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2021.
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The project entails the construction of a two-kilometer-long gas pipeline connection from the onshore power plant to an offshore FSRU including the mooring and hook-up. This will include the construction of a micro tunnel from the power plant into the sea followed by the dredging of an offshore pipeline trench.

With the aid of a construction support vessel (CSV) Boskalis will pull the 24 inch pipeline through the micro tunnel and trench. At the offshore location, a riser will be installed to connect the FSRU to the pipeline, in addition to an anchor spread with 11 anchors to permanently moor the FSRU in position.

The final phase of the project involves the physical mooring of the FSRU and the FSRU hook-up. For these activities Boskalis will deploy a CSV, a medium-sized trailer suction hopper dredger and a backhoe dredger.

With the development of this thermal powerplant, EDP will contribute to the diversification of the energy mix of El Salvador with an improved performance and reduced environmental impact.

The lead project partner is Invenergy, a US-based leading global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, as well as several local investors.