LNG

Exmar NV, the supplier of floating liquefied natural gas import facilities and an FLNG production unit to the Netherlands and the Republic of Congo respectively, has issued clarification to a letter sent to shareholders on the voluntary public takeover bid launched by Saverex NV for Exmar and open for acceptance until September 15.

The moves over the takeover process begun in June 2023 and involving Saverex, the holding company of the family of Exmar Executive Chairman Nicolas Saverys, came as Exmar also reported its first-half earnings.

Exmar revenues jumped to $200.2 million in the first six months of 2023 compared with $57.1M in the same period of 2022.

Proft returns

The Antwerp, Belgium-based company’s net profits amounted to $2M versus a loss of $8.5M in last year’s first half.

In regard to its latest letter to shareholders, the company said this may have “created the impression with certain shareholders that they are under an obligation to sell” their shares.

“This certainly was not the company’s intention and we, therefore, ask you to disregard this Letter and we hereby rectify that each shareholder is free to either tender or not to tender their shares to Saverex,” explained the company

“In the event shareholders have already tendered their shares in this second acceptance period, they also have the right to retract their tender,” it added.

“Certain shareholders have allegedly been approached in the name of the company, to convince or induce them to tender their shares to Saverex. The company takes the opportunity to underline that it has not taken such initiative and it would not support any such actions,” it declared.

FLNG progress

In the earnings report, Exmar, said that the “FSRU Eemshaven LNG” chartered to an affiliate of Dutch utility Gasunie has been running steadily at 300 million standard cubic feet per day of capacity.

Exmar added that progress was being made on the Congo export project involving the conventional LNG carrier “Excalibur”, which is undergoing conversion to a floating storage unit (FSU).

The “Excalibur” will be used alongside the “Tango FLNG” production vessel in a project being developed by Italian oil and gas major Eni.

Exmar retains an extensive fleet of other vessels, including three Vary Large Gas Carriers, 17 mid-sized liquefied petroleum gas carriers, two newbuilds and 10 pressurised carriers.

“The three VLGCs continue under their current employment. The VLGC market continues to perform well and prospects for the remainder of 2023 are positive,” stated Exmar.

“In the Midsize Gas Carriers (MGC) market, 2022 was an eventful year for LPG and ammonia with increased freight and higher ton-mile, while 2023 has seen a correction with reduced ammonia shipping demand, while LPG trade remained robust,” the company added.

“Owners managed to keep MGC hire rates at good levels despite recent newbuilding deliveries,” Exmar said.

Royal Vopak of the Netherlands, the world’s leading independent tank storage company and LNG terminals shareholder, said it aimed to take a 50 percent stake in the floating LNG project at the Dutch port of Eemshaven though was pulling out of an LNG terminal venture in Hong Kong.

Vopak said it had agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in the Eemshaven project from Dutch utility Gasunie.

“This transaction will be subject to a number of conditions, including the approval from the competition authorities. The transaction is targeted to be completed at the latest by 1 October 2023,” Vopak said.

The EemsEnergyTerminal is an LNG import terminal located in the seaport of the province of Groningen.

“Gasunie developed this new floating LNG terminal in the Eemshaven area in response to gas supply insecurities and a desire to reduce the dependency on Russian gas,” Vopak explained.

Vopak has additionally decided to no longer pursue the acquisition of a 49.99 percent stake in a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) owned by Japanese shipping company Mitsui Osk Lines and deployed in Hong Kong.

FSRU plans

“Vopak has been working with MOL for developing and commissioning the Hong Kong FSRU LNG terminal, and Vopak has contributed much to the establishment of a reliable system for the operation and maintenance of the terminal,” Vopak stated.

“Although the commercial start is expected later this year, the delay of the project has resulted in reduced attractiveness and made Vopak decide not to make use of the share right,” it added.

Vopak said it would remain involved in the commissioning of the terminal and would continue to provide support to the operation of the terminal as required.

The Eemshaven LNG facility has been operational since September 2022 and has a regasification capacity of 8 billion cubic metres per year. 

It comprises two FSRUs, the “Energos Igloo” and an FSRU barge built in China for Belgian shipping company Exmar.

Vopak said that the partners would explore ways of increasing capacity further.

Vopak and Gasunie are also partners in the main Dutch LNG import terminal, the onshore Gate facility at the port of Rotterdam.

Dutch security

“This agreement highlights the commitment of Gasunie and Vopak to jointly develop and operate open access LNG infrastructure in the Netherlands and to contribute to the energy security of Europe,” the statement added.

Ulco Vermeulen, director of business development at Gasunie, said he was pleased with Vopak’s decision to become a co-shareholder in EemsEnergyTerminal.

“By pooling our knowledge and experience we will offer a unique and reliable LNG import solution,” Vermeulen added.

Walter Moone, president New Energies and LNG at Vopak, said he was keen to build on the existing successful partnership with Gasunie.

“This fits very well with Vopak’s strategy to grow in LNG infrastructure and accelerate towards new energies,” Moone explained.

“We are proud to develop and operate reliable and open access infrastructure as this plays an important role both in the security of energy as well as in the energy transition,” added Moone.

The Netherlands said production at the Groningen natural gas field would be lowered to the minimal amount needed to keep wells operational in the coming 12 months and the field is still scheduled to be shut down in 2024 even amid gas shortages, while floating LNG terminals have begun operating offshore the Dutch province.

The Government said in a statement that the Groningen field, formerly the largest supplier to the Netherlands and which sent some volumes to Germany, will be capped at 2.8 billion cubic metres from the start of October 2022, down from 4.5 Bcm.

The Groningen field is operated by a joint venture comprising Shell and ExxonMobil and still holds huge reserves of natural gas.

Production at Groningen has gradually been reduced over the past 10 years because of complaints about earth tremors.

The Government said that all 11 production locations in the Groningen region would remain operational until at least April 2023 to enable an increase in production in case of an emergency.

More claims

The authorities added that more than 100 claims for structural damage had been filed since two earthquakes, the largest measuring 2.7 on the Richter scale, hit Groningen province on Saturday, September 24.

Most of the 1,000 tremors reported in Groningen since 1986 have been measured at 2.7 on the Richter scale or less.

Analysts note that such small tremors can be felt by some people though are unlikely to cause damage.

An investigation published by the Dutch financial newspaper, “Het Financieele Dagblad”, said that the Dutch Government had earned more than €360 billion ($349Bln) in revenues from the Groningen gas field since it came on stream.

“Total revenues from the gas region amounted to €428Bln when adjusted for inflation, of which €363.7Bln went to the government while €64.7Bln was split between Shell and ExxonMobil,” said the report.

Surge in costs

The report noted that Groningen production costs started to rise rapidly from less than €500 million a year in 2013 to a peak of €2.9Bln in 2018, as the government started to compensate people in Groningen who said their homes had been damaged by tremors.

A further €8.36Bln has been set aside by the Dutch Government for further compensation payments for Groningen residents.

The Dutch floating LNG facilities are sited at Eemshaven on the waterway between Eemshaven port in the province of Groningen and the North Sea. Analysts added that LNG imports would likely be less costly in the long run than the controversial Groningen gas field with its soaring compensation claims.

Eemshaven LNG comprises two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), the “Golar Igloo” vessel and a regasification barge provided by Belgian shipping company Exmar.

The FSRUs supply the Dutch system and most regasification capacity at Eemshaven has been reserved for the Dutch operations of Shell and the French utility and energy group Engie, while the main utility of the Czech Republic is also importing shipments. 

Exmar, the Belgian shipping company with more than 40 vessels in its fleet focused on the liquefied petroleum gas business, narrowed its third-quarter net losses to $16.3 million as its drawback from LNG activities has been hampered by an arbitration case brought by commodities firm Gunvor, offset by a successful LNG production vessel charter to Argentina.

Argentine oil and gas producer, Yacimientos Petroleiferos Fiscales (YPF), said a natural gas well caught fire at its huge onshore Vaca Muerta shale gas and oil basin in the northwest of the country and whose resources are expected to lead to future large-scale LNG exports.

Exmar, the Belgian fleet owner with LNG assets such as the “Tango FLNG” production hull operating at Bahia Blanca in Argentina, said it had repaid a senior unsecured bond as it reorganised some of its finances and cut costs to underpin its financial future.

Exmar said in an update on its finances that it had repaid the unsecured bond funded partially with a new unsecured two-year bond of 650 million Norwegian crowns ($75 million) and partly with available resources.

The company, led by Chief Executive Nicolas Saverys, currently manages a fleet of 10 LNG carriers and FSRUs and owns two FLNG barges. The company, like many others, has suffered over the last few years from the shipping industry downturn.

Exmar also operates in the liquefied petroleum gas market, where it owns or operates around 30 vessels. It has been expanding in the LPG sector while consolidating its LNG interests.

Antwerp-based Exmar said in the financial update that it organized the payments on the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) barge in the second quarter of 2019.

The financing is approved by the credit committee of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), where the vessel was built, but due to a delay in the finance documentation with CSSC, the financing is not yet concluded.

“The completion of the documentation is expected in the course of the third quarter of 2019,” said Exmar.

The company also explained that further to the successful performance acceptance tests of the “Tango FLNG” in June 2019, Exmar met all conditions for the partial release of the debt service reserve amounts for the repayment of the $200M loan with Bank of China and Deutsche Bank ($40M in a first phase).

“This repayment is subject to the approval of Sinosure (export credit insurer), the latter taking more time than previously communicated,” it explained.

“Exmar will do its utmost to expedite this repayment, expected to occur in the course of the third quarter of 2019,” stated the Belgian company.

The “Tango FLNG” plant is chartered by Argentina energy company YPF under a 10-year agreement. The vessel was built at the Chinese Wison shipyard in Nantong and delivered to Exmar in 2017.

The vessel is the former floating liquefaction unit, “Caribbean FLNG”, constructed for a cancelled venture in the South American state of Colombia and renamed before being sent to Argentina.

Pending the settlement of both the Chinese credit issues, Exmar said it acquired a bridging loan for $30M to temporarily increase its liquidity.

Additionally, Exmar has signed an agreement with Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) for the sale of 50 percent of its shares in Reslea, owner of the office buildings in Antwerp.

Exmar will realize a capital gain of about $19M and therefore reinforce its liquidity position.

The company also gave the instruction to pay the first instalment for the construction of two Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) in accordance with the shipbuilding contract with Jiangnan Shipyard in China.

“Both vessels are under construction in Shanghai and will serve under a firm contract of five years with Equinor after delivery in 2021,” said Exmar.

“Exmar expects and believes that as per December 2019 it is foreseen that all (financial) covenants will be met,” it added.

Exmar posted an annual pre-tax loss of $14.2 million compared with a profit of $29.3M the previous year, though said it was confident of a sound financial future.

The Reganosa liquefied natural gas terminal plant at Mugardos in the northwest Spanish port of Ferrol said it received the first cargo delivered to Spain from the Cheniere Energy-operated Corpus Christi export plant in Texas for international commodities company Trafigura.

Exmar, the Belgian shipping line with floating liquefied natural gas interests, including the “Tango FLNG” production hull now deployed at the Argentine port of Bahia Blanca, has recorded a pre-tax loss as its business is restructured.

May 15 (LNGJ) - Belgian LNG shipping line Exmar whose managed and owned fleet consists of three LNG carriers and 11 floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) has signed a 10-year charter with international commodities company Gunvor for the provision of its newbuild FSRU barge for Bangladesh. Exmar said the barge was currently at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore undergoing modifications after having been delivered from the Wison Offshore and Marine shipyard in Nantong, China, in December 2017. “The FSRU barge is expected to arrive in Bangladesh in the fourth quarter of this year and start operations after its full commissioning,” said Exmar. “Gunvor is keen to support the development of new LNG markets by providing reliable and efficient LNG infrastructure solutions,” it added.

Feb 22 (LNGJ) - Exmar, the Belgian LNG fleet owner and project developer, said its floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) barge delivered from the Wison shipyard in China at the end of 2017 has left the facility in Nantong and was now bound for Singapore. “There the unit will undergo site specific modifications before departing to its project destination to commence its long-term employment mid-2018 in line with its time charter commitments,” said Antwerp-based Exmar. The vessel is the world’s first newbuild regasification barge and was ordered on a speculative basis. “More information on the charterer and the location will be released at a later stage,” said Exmar.