U.S.-based Excelerate Energy has signed an agreement to lead a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, which includes the key participation of South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries, according to Excelerate's website,

A statement dated Nov. 6 said Excelerate Energy will act as the consortium's leading contractor in the deal with London-based Ophir Energy to develop gas reserves in the Block R natural gas field west of Bioko Island. The company said it will partner with Samsung Heavy Industries and U.S. engineering company Black & Veatch.

Block R, located about 140 kilometers off the coast of Bioko Island, is 80 percent owned by Ophir and 20 percent owned by Equatorial Guinea's state-operated oil company, GEPetrol. 

The project, estimated at US$2 billion, is expected to annually produce up to 3 million tons of LNG for 20 years starting in 2019, Excelerate said. 

Samsung Heavy Industries would build a floating liquefaction storage and offloading vessel when the basic engineering concept is completed, according to company officials.

"We expect to sign an agreement (with Excelerate Energy) within the next year after it draws up the front-end engineering design," a Samsung Heavy Industries official said. (Yonhap)