Excelerate Energy, the US pioneer of floating liquefied natural gas import terminals, said the FSRU “Exemplar” has returned to the Argentine port of Bahia Blanca to support the South American nation’s peak energy demand in the Southern Hemisphere winter.
“The ‘Exemplar’ has begun operations in Bahia Blanca, a port city located 400 miles south of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires,” said Excelerate.
The FSRU has storage capacity of 150,900 cubic metres and deliver regasified LNG for the 2021 winter season in Argentina, providing reliability and stability in the challenging conditions of the South Atlantic.
The vessel has been chartered for use by Integración Energética Sociedad Anónima (IEASA), previously known as Enarsa (Energía Argentina S.A.), a state-owned company and the national oil and gas company, and Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) S.A. to deliver an energy solution
“We are excited to return to Bahia Blanca and continue our partnership with IEASA and YPF to deliver an energy solution that is flexible, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly during a critical period of peak demand,” said Daniel Bustos, Excelerate’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“We are confident the ‘Exemplar’ can perform again with our local Argentine crew to support the country’s energy transition and post-Covid economic recovery this winter,” added Bustos.
The return of the FSRU comes after Excelerate recently won an international, competitive tender for seasonal regasification service in Bahia Blanca.
Excelerate developed the Bahia Blanca GasPort, South America’s first LNG import terminal in 2008 and has also operated GNL Escobar, an LNG import terminal along the Paraná River, since 2011.
The Excelerate company has started FSRU-led import ventures in the US, South America, Asia and the Middle East and has its headquarters in The Woodlands in Houston in Texas.
It is part of a privately held US energy group founded by American businessman George Kaiser, who is also the majority shareholder of the publicly-traded Bank of Oklahoma.
