LNG

Titan LNG, the bunkering fuel supplier in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area of northwest Europe, has partnered with Malaysian energy company Petronas for a successful re-fuelling operation for an LNG-powered Very Large Crude Carrier chartered by Koch Industries of the US.

Avenir LNG’s dual-purpose bunkering and supply vessel the 7,500 cubic metres capacity “Avenir Aspiration” has again called at the Higas terminal located on the Italian island of Sardinia as the start of commercial operations progress.

The Higas facility is a small-scale LNG import, storage and distribution facility in the port of Oristano in Sardinia.

Avenir LNG holds 80 percent of the equity in Higas and is working with established local partners Gas & Heat and CPL Concordia who each hold a 10 percent stake in the facility.

The “Avenir Aspiration” discharged the cargo and has now departed and was heading for Spain, according to shipping data.

The Higas terminal includes a jetty capable of receiving LNG vessels up to 20,000 cubic metres of capacity, an unloading arm, six horizontal cryogenic holding tanks of 1,500 cubic metres capacity each, two LNG truck-loading bays and a natural gas power generation system.

It has already started the sales and distribution of LNG truckloads to a number of customers.

Avenir itself is a joint venture owned by London-based Stolt-Nielsen and partners Höegh LNG and Golar LNG Ltd. The company's activities include building a fleet of small-scale LNG carriers.

Charter

Avenir LNG at the end of December 2021 announced it would charter one of its small-scale LNG carriers to Shell after it is delivered from a Chinese shipyard in 2022.

Avenir said it had entered into a Time Charter Party (TCP) with Shell North America LLC for the “Avenir Achievement”, a newbuild with 20,000 cubic metres capacity.

The supply vessel is expected to be delivered to Avenir in the second quarter of 2022 and the time charter to Shell is expected to begin at the start of 2023 for a period of three years and with an option to extend for up to five years.

This charter, including options, increases Avenir’s overall vessel charter revenues backlog to $81.0 million as of December 2021.

Avenir noted that the small carrier is equipped with boil-off gas reliquefication and simultaneous operations (SIMOPs) capabilities, “making her the world’s largest, most efficient and versatile LNG bunkering vessel” available.

Avenir LNG, the Norwegian-listed LNG operator and vessel owner, will charter one of its small-scale LNG carriers to Shell after it is delivered from a Chinese shipyard next year.

Avenir said it had entered into a Time Charter Party (TCP) with Shell North America LLC for the “Avenir Achievement”, a newbuild with 20,000 cubic metres capacity.

Avenir is a joint venture owned by London-based Stolt-Nielsen and partners Höegh LNG and Golar LNG Ltd.

The supply vessel is expected to be delivered to Avenir in the second quarter of 2022 and the time charter to Shell is expected to begin at the start of 2023 for a period of three years and with an option to extend for up to five years.

This charter, including options, increases Avenir’s overall vessel charter revenues backlog to $81.0 million as of December 2021.

“The vessel will be equipped with boil-off gas reliquefication and simultaneous operations (SIMOPs) capabilities, making her the world’s largest, most efficient and versatile LNG bunker supply vessel,” said Avenir.

Commenting on the deal, Peter Mackey, Chief Executive of Avenir, said he was delighted with the charter deal and to see “Avenir Achievement” playing an important role in expanding Shell’s LNG bunkering capabilities.

“This deal marks another major achievement in Avenir’s development as we fix the last vessel in our current newbuilding programme. We are thrilled to welcome a world-class organisation like Shell as the latest customer for Avenir,” added Mackey.

In its most recent earnings, Avenir posted a nine-month operating profit of $291,000 compared with an operating loss of $4.84 million in the same period of 2020.

There was a narrowing of Avenir’s net losses for the first nine months of 2021 to $1.28M versus $4.32M in the same prior-year period for the business focused on providing infrastructure to support the development of LNG as a marine fuel and supplying the off-grid power generation and transport fuel sectors.

Avenir’s revenues increased by $9.7M compared with the previous nine months of 2020 to $10.5M following the delivery of its first two small-scale LNG carriers, the “Avenir Advantage” and the “Avenir Accolade”, in October 2020 and March 2021 respectively.

Avenir LNG, the Norwegian small-scale LNG business, said the carrier “Avenir Accolade” would deliver the commissioning cargo to the latest Italian regasification terminal on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia after making its way from Asia.

Avenir, a joint venture between London-based Stolt-Nielsen and partners Höegh LNG and Golar LNG Ltd., took delivery of the 7,500 cubic metres capacity dual-purpose LBV “Avenir Accolade” in March 2021 from the Keppel Offshore and Marine shipyard in the Chinese port of Nantong.

The “Avenir Accolade” has an overall length of 124 metres and her beam is 18 metres.

Avenir said a ship-to-ship bunkering of the “Avenir Accolade” was carried out on April 26 by its sister ship, the “Avenir Advantage”, off Pengerang in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia.

The Maltese-flagged “Avenir Accolade” is scheduled to transit the Suez Canal on May 15 into the East Mediterranean, according to shipping data.

“We’re thrilled to see the ‘Avenir Advantage’ alongside the ‘Avenir Accolade’, the first time they are back together since leaving the shipyard in Nantong,” said Peter Mackey, Chief Executive of Avenir LNG Ltd.

Schedule

“We look forward to welcoming the ‘Avenir Accolade’ to our HIGAS terminal in Sardinia in a few weeks’ time with the commissioning cargo onboard,” added Mackey.

“We continue to make significant strides in executing our strategy for Avenir LNG,” the CEO explained.

“The Avenir team and the crews onboard our vessels deserve a huge amount of praise for all they have accomplished during these enormously challenging times,” he stated.

Stolt-Nielsen started up the small-scale LNG sector firm Avenir in 2015 and its two main investors, Golar and Höegh, each have 22.5 percent of Avenir.

In addition to its growing small-scale fleet Avenir has an 80 percent stake in the small-scale Higas terminal being commissioned in May.

The terminal is located at the Port of Oristano and includes a jetty capable of receiving LNG vessels up to 20,000 cubic metres, an unloading arm, six horizontal cryogenic holding tanks of 1,500 cubic metres capacity each, two LNG truck-loading bays and a natural gas power generation system.

The Sardinian terminal will be capable of loading around 8,000 LNG trucks each year for subsequent distribution to smaller satellite stations across the island in a classic version of a targeted small-scale LNG project.

Sardinia currently lacks a system of access to natural gas and only a small number of industrial customers receive LNG by truck which is brought to the island by ferry.

Avenir LNG, a company owned by Norwegian shipping and infrastructure companies, said its newest 7,500 cubic metres capacity LNG bunkering vessel has been launched in China and it would be delivered later in 2021.

Avenir LNG Ltd, a company owned by Norwegian shipping and infrastructure companies, has delivered its first dual-purpose liquefied natural gas bunkering and supply vessel (LBV), the “Avenir Advantage”, to the Future Horizon joint venture comprising Malaysia’s MISC Group and Avenir.

The ship was constructed by Keppel Offshore and Marine at the Nantong Shipyard in China’s eastern Jiangsu province.

“With the delivery of the ‘Avenir Advantage’, Future Horizon is the first dedicated LBV commercial operator in Southeast Asia,” said Avenir

Additionally, Malaysian energy company Petronas has chartered the “Avenir Advantage” from Future Horizon for a period of three years.

“Following her maiden voyage from China, the ‘Avenir Advantage’ has successfully completed the commissioning of the LNG re-loading equipment on the ‘FSU Tenaga Satu’ and the first LNG bunkering of the ‘SIEM Aristotle’ car carrier,” explained Avenir

The “Avenir Advantage” will supply the region’s LNG-fuelled vessels and small-scale LNG projects.

“We are very proud to deliver the first dedicated LNG bunker vessel in Southeast Asia,” said Milorad Doljanin, Chief Executive of Avenir

“With the backing of Petronas’s LNG supply infrastructure, LNG is undeniably a reliable and cost-effective solution to meeting the sulphur cap regulations set by the International Maritime Organization in 2020,” added Doljanin.

“Further to the provision of LNG as a bunker fuel, the delivery of the ‘Avenir Advantage’ means that Petronas now has the infrastructure in place to support the rapid deployment of small-scale supply chains and we are proud to be working with Petronas as envisaged under our previously announced arrangements,” he explained

Avenir LNG is a joint venture owned by London-based Norwegian shipping and storage company Stolt-Nielsen and its peer fleet owners and project companies, Höegh LNG and Golar LNG.

The “Avenir Advantage” is the first of two ships ordered from the Keppel Nantong shipyard.

Each vessel has a cargo capacity of 7,500 cubic metres capacity with two Type-C storage tanks.

Stolt-Nielsen started up small-scale LNG sector firm Avenir in 2015 and its two newer investors, Golar and Höegh, each have 22.5 percent of Avenir to Stolt-Nielsen’s 45 percent.

The experienced shipping partners of Avenir are aiming to build up the market in small-scale LNG supply to off-grid industry for power generation and transportation fuel, as well as providing infrastructure to support the development of LNG as a marine fuel.

Avenir additionally has an 80 percent stake in a small-scale LNG import project company Higas on the Italian island of Sardinia, while the local partners are Gas & Heat and CPL Concordia, each holding 10 percent of the Sardinia venture.