Predator FSRU

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Predator FSRU Terminal, also known as the Mag Mell FSRU, is a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Ireland. As of July 2024, there have been no project updates in over two years, and the project is presumed to be shelved.

Location

The proposed terminal would be located 50 km off the coast of County Cork, near the southern terminus of the currently decommissioned Kinsale Head gas pipeline.

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Project Details

• Owner: Predator Oil & Gas
• Parent company: Predator Oil & Gas
• Location: Ireland
• Coordinates: 51.264274, -8.045619 (approximate)
• Capacity: 2.6 bcm/y, 2.0-2.4 mtpa
• Cost:
• Status: Shelved
• Type: Import
• FID Status: Pre-FID
• Start Year: 2024

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day; bcm/y = billion cubic meters per year

Background

In September 2020, Predator Oil & Gas completed its timeline for commissioning the floating LNG import terminal in Ireland, with first gas deliveries from the project expected in the first half of 2024.

The company said it had made progress with regulatory authorities, gas infrastructure owners, gas buyers and the FSRU provider "to establish an offshore LNG opportunity for Ireland to import LNG that does not use shale gas as a LNG feedstock." That is key to the project's success after the new Irish government said in June 2020 that it did not support the import of "fracked gas" and would develop a policy to establish that position.

In March 2021, Predator's CEO Paul Griffiths claimed the project was being "accelerated" in light of advances in the regulatory process.

In June 2021, Predator said that a consultancy acting on its behalf had prepared and submitted a report about the project proposal to the Draft Cork County Development Plan 2021 for public consultation. The company has named the project 'Mag Mell' after the mythical Irish kingdom beneath the ocean. An Irish government imposed moratorium on the development of all LNG import terminals remains in place until the end of 2021 when a review of Ireland's energy supply security is expected to be completed.

In May 2022, Predator Oil and Gas urged the Irish government to approve the Mag Mell FSRU project to bolster the security of its national gas supply in the face of the Russia-Ukraine war. In promoting the project, Predator CEO Paul Griffiths noted that Ireland currently has no LNG infrastructure and is 100% dependent for gas supply on the Corrib Oil and Gas Field (the country's lone producing domestic field), together with imports from the United Kingdom. As currently proposed by Predator, the project would involve mooring a pair of FSRUs (floating storage and regasification units) 50 km off the Cork coast, and transporting gas to shore via the currently disused Kinsale Head gas pipeline.

As of July 2024, there have been no project updates in over two years, and the project is presumed to be shelved.