GDF SUEZ and its project partner Marubeni have chartered a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) for their LNG import terminal project, GNL del Plata in Uruguay. The Uruguay FSRU will have a long-term storage capacity of 263,000 m3 and a regasification capacity of 10 mcm/d (3.65 bcm/year), expandable to 15 mcm/d (5.48 bcm/year). It will be moored 4 km offshore from Montevideo, at the GNL del Plata terminal, which will have the capacity to receive LNG carriers of up to 218,000 m3. The FSRU has been chartered from an affiliate of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL, Japan) and is being constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, South Korea. Until the delivery of the new FSRU in late 2016, the Shuttle Regasification Vessel GDF SUEZ Neptune will be used as a bridge solution, enabling commercial operation of the terminal to commence in 2015.
On 1 October 2013 GDF SUEZ signed a 15-year BOOT (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer) contract with Gas Sayago for LNG storage and regasification services in Uruguay. In February 2014, Marubeni became a 50% partner in the project.