LNG

LNG carrier ordering activity in the first half of 2026 has rebounded from last year’s slowdown, with MS Cardiff Gas, Hayfin and BW LNG again seen circling Korean shipyards for 2029 delivery windows.

Prime Infrastructure Capital has completed its $850 million (PHP 50 billion) acquisition of a 60% stake in First Gen’s gas subsidiaries, giving it control of the Batangas LNG import terminal and more than 3,200 MW of gas-fired capacity.

The BW Group of Singapore with LNG and shipping interests and led by Andreas Sohmen-Pao has shuffled shareholdings by acquiring a bigger stake in BW Energy with a purchase of shares in the energy unit from another affiliate BW Offshore.

Saipem, the Italian energy and LNG engineering company, was awarded a contract by Italian gas system operator SNAM for the construction of the associated facilities for the new Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) to be located in the Adriatic Sea offshore Ravenna as Italy’s fifth import terminal.

June 23 (LNGJ) - The “BW Batangas”, the second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) chartered for a company in the Philippines for an LNG import terminal, has arrived at Batangas Bay, according to shipping data, for an LNG import project with commercial start-up before September.

   The vessel with 162,500 cubic metres of capacity, the renamed “BW Paris”, has been chartered from BW LNG of Singapore by a venture led by Filipino power company First Gen Corp., which has also tendered for a commissioning cargo. The first Philippines floating LNG project started earlier in 2023 and is suppling another local power company SMC Global Power Holdings. This project involves the LNG floating storage unit “Ish” as part of a venture developed by Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company near Batangas Bay.

The Government of the Philippines is increasing its drive to bring liquefied natural gas import facilities on line to avoid a surge in electricity prices and possible power cuts once the Malampaya natural gas field reserves are depleted by 2024.

Royal Dutch Shell has signed an agreement to exit the depleting Malampaya gas field in the Philippines as the southeast Asian nation advances with several plans for LNG import projects to fuel gas-fired power projects.

BW Group said a $128.3 million financial package has been arranged with IDB Invest, the private arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, to help fund a converted floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) as part of a gas-for-power project in the Latin American nation of El Salvador.

The financial package has a 15-year contractual term. The funds provide resources for the purchase and conversion of the “BW Tatiana” LNG carrier to an FSRU.

This is the region's first FSRU, which will be permanently moored at the Port of Acajutla in El Salvador.

A BW Group subsidiary, BW LNG, is developing the project with Invenergy, a multinational power generation and operations company.

“The power project’s use of natural gas will reduce the country's reliance on imported diesel and heavy fuel oil-fired generation, resulting in significant environmental benefits,” said the developers.

Invenergy and BW LNG will jointly commission, operate and maintain the FSRU.

“BW is grateful for the opportunity to bring clean, affordable energy to the region, with the support of Invenergy and IDB Invest,” said Jessica Cheung, Vice President for Treasury and Corporate Finance at BW Group, the Singapore-based shipping and oil and gas projects company with a fleet of around 420 tankers and ships, including 190 LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels.

“Besides enhancing this project's competitiveness, we hope this financing encourages the development of many more LNG-to-power projects in the region,” added Cheung.

BW LNG said a key part of the El Salvador project was the FSRU, which will have regasification capacity of 280 million standard cubic feet a day and storage capacity of 137,000 cubic metres.

Regasified LNG will be transported via a subsea pipeline to the onshore 378-megawatts natural gas-fired power plant.

The El Salvador project is scheduled to be completed in 2022 and is expected to meet about 30 percent of El Salvador's energy demand.

“The close of financing for the FSRU represents a significant step forward in the completion of the transformational project, the foundation for El Salvador's clean energy future,” said Meghan Schultz, Senior Vice President, Finance and Capital Markets at Invenergy.

“This multi-component project is only made possible through the collaboration and support of our incredible partners, BW LNG and IDB Invest,” added Schultz.

Swiss LNG equipment-maker Burckhardt Compression said its fiscal first-half closed with higher sales, increased operating income and a substantial year-on-year rise in net profits as the company acquired or agreed to buy three new units over the past year.

Oct 20 (LNGJ) - A Singapore-based shipping unit of the BW Group, BW LNG, and Swiss LNG equipment provider Burckhardt Compression have signed a 10-year service agreement covering nine LNG carriers with Laby-GI Compressors on board. “Building on their existing long-term relationship, the two companies agreed to a tailor-made ‘Fleet Management Solution’ which provides a total care package supported by the latest monitoring diagnostics,” they said.

   “This partnership was established to formally cement and promote the holistic and sustainable service standards that are necessary in a changing and uncertain world,” they said. “The new long-term service agreement (LTSA) was developed together with the BW LNG experts to provide services on board that add value to the operation of the vessels, such as improved lifecycle costs, operational efficiency and accurate preventive maintenance,” added Burckhardt.