Talcahuano FSRU

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Talcahuano FSRU, also known as Terminal GNL Talcahuano, Terminal Marítimo GNL Talcahuano, and FSRU de Talcahuano, is a shelved (confirmed) LNG import terminal in Chile.

Location

Table 1: Location details

Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Talcahuano FSRU	Chile	-36.718357, -73.102769 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the terminal:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Infrastructure details

mtpa = million tonnes per year

Name	Facility type	Status	Capacity	Total terminal capacity	Offshore	Associated infrastructure
Talcahuano FSRU	import	shelved (confirmed)	2.3 mtpa	2.3 mtpa	True	Gasoducto del Pacífico gas pipeline

Table 3: Cost

Name	Facility type	Cost	Total known terminal costs
Talcahuano FSRU	import	–	–

Financing

No financing data available.

Table 4: Project timeline

FID = Final Investment Decision, used by some developers to indicate a project will move forward

Name	Facility type	Status	Proposal year	FID year	Construction year	Operating year	Inactive year
Talcahuano FSRU	import	shelved (confirmed)	2016	–	–	–	–

Ownership

Table 5: Ownership

Name	Facility type	Status	Owners	Parent companies	Operator
Talcahuano FSRU	import	shelved (confirmed)	Inversiones GNL Talcahuano SpA [100%]	Inversiones GNL Talcahuano SpA [100.0%]	–

Background

Talcahuano LNG Terminal is a proposed floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) off the coast of Talcahuano, Chile. The marine LNG facility would allow the import, storage and regasification of LNG transported by carrier ships. Gas from the terminal would be dispatched through a flexible underwater gas pipeline into the existing Gasoducto del Pacífico pipeline, which is the hub of the Biobío Region's natural gas network, enabling distribution companies to deliver natural gas to their clients. The proposed terminal would have an approximate storage capacity of 100,000 m3 of LNG and a maximum regasification capacity of 8.5 million m³/day (3.1 billion m³/year). The terminal's proposed location is about 4 kilometers offshore from the Isla de los Reyes coastline. The proposed design does not use a jetty connection to land. The LNG regasification process is to be carried out using vaporizer technology with a closed fresh water-glycol cycle, free from the use of seawater.

In 2017 the project won approval on a unanimous vote by the Chilean environmental agency SEA (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental), with the provision that construction must begin within five years. The approval came despite strong opposition from local mussel fishermen, nine of whose representatives were arrested after being ejected from the hearing, and from Talcahuano's mayor, who promised to continue fighting the project, citing its uncertain impact on the environment and the local tourist industry.

Chilean pipeline operator Gasoducto del Pacífico granted a connection feasibility certificate to the Talcahuano terminal in 2011, allowing gas from the proposed terminal to be distributed via the existing Gasoducto del Pacífico pipeline network. However, in 2017 the general manager of Innergy, a company that promotes sales of Argentine gas through the same pipeline, expressed doubts about the validity of the 2011 certificate, a position that was apparently backed by Gasoducto del Pacífico, leaving the Talcahuano terminal project in limbo.

In 2019, lawyers for the Talcahuano terminal filed an appeal for legal protection against Gasoducto del Pacífico, claiming that Innergy and Gasoducto del Pacífico were improperly disregarding the 2011 certificate and effectively colluding to prevent Terminal Marítimo GNL Talcahuano from connecting to the Pacífico pipeline. An appeals court denied the appeal, but in August 2020 this decision was overturned by Chile's Supreme Court, paving the way for the terminal project to proceed.

Following the August Supreme Court decision and a September 2020 ruling by the Environmental Court of Valdivia that rejected several objections to the project on environmental grounds, officials of GNL Talcahuano announced that construction of the terminal would begin in March 2021, with a projected cost of US$160 million and commercial start-up date in the second half of 2022.

In October 2021, the project encountered another roadblock when the Environmental Court of Valdivia revoked the terminal's environmental license, citing the owners' insufficient consideration of citizen input and impacts on local fauna, and their failure to conduct consultations with indigenous groups as required by law. In November 2021, the company announced that it would appeal the decision before Chile's Supreme Court.

In January 2023, Chile's Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling invalidating the Talcahuano terminal's environmental license. GNL Talcahuano CEO Juan Ignacio Ugarte said that the company would study the court's ruling before making any official pronouncements on the project's future. As of September 2024, Talcahuano LNG still maintained a website for the project, but there had been no further developments, and the terminal was presumed to be shelved.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.