Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced that Lakler S.A., 100% subsidiary of MOL has officially agreed to conclude a charter contract, with an eye toward reaching a final deal in June this year, with Gas Sayago, a joint venture between Uruguay's state oil company ANCAP and state power company UTE, for floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project (*) in Montevideo, Uruguay, led by Gas Sayago. A signing ceremony was held in Montevideo on May 2 (local time).

Lakler looks forward to swiftly finalizing negotiation of the details allowing the project to get under way.

The FSRU that will serve this project is currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., in South Korea. It will be equipped with the largest LNG storage tank (263,000m 3 ) of any FSRU in the world. After completion at the shipyard, it will travel to Uruguay to begin LNG receiving and regasifying operations.

FSRUs receive liquefied natural gas from LNG carriers, regasify it, and transmit it under high pressure to pipelines on land. Since the first practical application in 2005, FSRU projects have been introduced all over the world as an effective solution to developing LNG terminals in less time and at lower expense than conventional land-based terminals. MOL anticipates continued growth in the FSRU field, and is aggressively seeking new opportunities, drawing upon more than 30 years of experience and a strong track record in LNG loading/discharging, vessel operation, and maintenance.