Jambelí FSRU

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Jambelí FSRU, also known as Terminal GNL de Jambelí, is a shelved (inferred 2 y) LNG import terminal proposal in Ecuador.

Location

Table 1: Location details

Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Jambelí FSRU	Bajo Alto, El Oro Province, Ecuador	-3.13649, -80.132792 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the terminal:

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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
Jambelí FSRU	import	proposed	0.38 mtpa	0.38 mtpa	True	Termogas Machala I power station

Table 3: Cost

Name	Facility type	Cost	Total known terminal costs
Jambelí 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
Jambelí FSRU	import	proposed	2019	–	–	–	–

Ownership

Table 5: Ownership

Name	Facility type	Status	Owners	Parent companies	Operator
Jambelí FSRU	import	proposed	Sycar - LNG SA [100%]	LipiAndes [70.0%]; Sycar LLC [30.0%]	–

Table 6: Vessel ownership

Name	Facility type	Status	Vessel owners	Vessel operator
Jambelí FSRU	import	proposed	Sycar - LNG	Sycar - LNG

Background

In September 2019, Ecuador's Minister of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources Carlos Perez Garcia announced that the country would issue a tender in October for a small-scale floating LNG terminal. An exact location was not announced.

In July 2020, it was reported that the American company Sycar, in partnership with an unnamed LNG trading firm, planned to build the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), with construction expected to start in 2021 pending the completion of environmental licensing by the fourth quarter of 2020. The FSRU was to provide regasified LNG to the neighbouring 130 MW TermoGas Machala gas-fired power plant in El Oro province. The terminal was also expected to include an LNG truck-filling station.

On April 19, 2021, Sycar received approval of its Environmental Impact Study from the Ministry of Environment and Water, marking completion of the permitting phase. Sycar's website noted that the company intended for the Ecuador FLNG to serve as a stepping stone for future onshore LNG projects in Ecuador.

In January and February 2022, Sycar imported its first two shipments of LNG into Ecuador. Short-term plans called for LNG to be delivered in ISO tanks directly to industrial customers. Longer-term plans for development of the Jambelí floating regasification unit and associated port facility were reportedly still underway, with an anticipated start-up date of 2024.

A subsequent report on Sycar's Latin America operations, published in November 2022, indicated that an FSU with ship-to-truck loading facilities would begin operating in 2023, with a full-fledged FSRU to follow in 2025.

As of August 2024, Sycar's website continued to list an anticipated start-up date of 2025 for the Jambelí FSRU, but there was no clear indication of any further progress in developing the project.

As of August 2026, there had been no further news about the Jambeli FSRU project, aside from a passing mention in an April 2026 BNAmericas regional market overview of LNG import proposals. Sycar's website had not been updated since June 2022 and continued to list an outdated 2025 start date for the project. In the absence of more specific news, the project was presumed to be shelved.

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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.