By Gabrielle Ng
SINGAPORE, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Singapore-based Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific (AG&P) LNG has agreed to fully acquire Australian energy infrastructure developer Venice Energy and develop its Outer Harbor import terminal in South Australia.
AG&P LNG is aiming to bring the LNG import terminal in Port Adelaide online by the first quarter of 2027, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The terminal, which has an import capacity of 2 million metric tons per annum, will be built by converting a 145,000 cubic metre LNG carrier to a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU). The FSRU will have a peak send out capacity of 400 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
The transaction will be financed by Florida-headquartered investment and development firm Nebula Energy, which owns the majority stake in AG&P LNG, the statement added.
Venice Energy has the Outer Harbor terminal project ready with all key permits in place, "offering a key advantage over other LNG import terminal proposals in the region," said AG&P chairman Peter Gibson.
The project's approval should reduce gas shortages in the southeast of Australia from mid-2026 and beyond, Venice Energy said last October.
Australia's east coast could face gas shortages from 2027, a year earlier than initially forecast, the country's competition regulator said in July this year.
The warning came shortly after Australia's energy market regulator said the region was facing an immediate gas shortage, as a cold snap drove up demand for heating and power while weather conditions have hampered wind and solar power output.
The world's second-largest LNG exporter produces more gas than it needs to meet its domestic demands, but most supply is contracted for export.
Power producer Origin Energy is in talks to import LNG from the Outer Harbor LNG terminal and be the sole user for at least a decade, Venice Energy said in last October's statement.
(Reporting by Gabrielle Ng; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
((gabrielle.ng@thomsonreuters.com;))
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