LNG

French liquefied natural gas storage technology firm Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT) reported a more than 17 percent increase in first-quarter revenues as the order book continued to build after a record year in 2022 and orders in the first three months for 25 LNG carriers.

Cool Company Ltd, the LNG shipping joint venture owned by Eastern Pacific Shipping, one major shareholder and investors who bought into an initial public offering, is moving forward with plans for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange and will require a temporary trading suspension.

CoolCo is becoming a speciality LNG fleet owner after arranging the phased acquisition of the company’s initial eight tri-fuel, diesel-electric (TFDE) LNG carriers in 2022.

There was then also a subsequent asset acquisition of four LNG carriers on November 10, 2022, from an affiliate of Eastern Pacific Shipping.

Prior to the listing on the NYSE, Coolco additionally altered its ownership structure as Golar LNG sold its stake.

Prior to February 28, CoolCo's 53.68 million shares were split between 26.79M (49.9 percent) owned by Eastern Pacific, 22.43M (41.8 percent) publicly owned after the IPO and 4.46M shares (8.3 percent) held by Golar LNG Ltd.

Golar LNG then announced that it had sold 4.46M shares in CoolCo to Mi Hong Yoon, a member of the CoolCo board, at a price of 130 Norwegian crown ($12.5) per share and a total of over $55 million.

Coolco said that regarding the previous public filing of a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to list its common shares on the NYSE, the US regulatory review process has concluded.

“However, following this, the company has filed an acceleration request asking the SEC to declare its registration statement effective on March 14, 2023,” CoolCo explained.

Alterations

“In connection with the listing of the company’s shares on the NYSE and to facilitate the transfer of the company’s shares between the NYSE and Euronext Growth Oslo, the company will amend the registration structure for its shares,” said Hamilton, Bermuda-headquartered CoolCo.

The company noted that a trading suspension of the shares would be required in connection with the re-registration process.

Further, the company will change its ticker code on Euronext Growth Oslo from “COOL” to CLCO” when trading resumes following the trading suspension.

Coolco is currently finalizing the administrative processes in relation to the re-registration.

“Once these processes are concluded, the company will confirm the dates for the expected trading suspension and the listing date,” it added.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French designer of LNG storage tanks for ships and for onshore, has been granted approval from UK maritime classification society Lloyds Register for its digital prediction technology for regasification operations involving floating LNG facilities.

Feb 23 (LNGJ) - Excelerate Technical Management (ETM), a wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for the management and welfare of seafarers and crews on Excelerate Energy’s fleet of floating storage and regasification units operating as LNG import terminals, said it had joined forces with companies and organizations to sign the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change. In conjunction with more than 500 entities, Excelerate said it was taking action to deliver on shared responsibility to support seafarers with global partners spanning the maritime value chain.

   “The declaration marks a significant moment in the industry where we commit to being a part of the collective group working to hold ourselves to the highest standards. We take great pride in joining this effort,” said Cal Bancroft, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Excelerate Energy. “We have and will continue to be steadfast in our commitment to stewardship, accountability, improvement, and leadership as it pertains to all parts of our business,” added Bancroft.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm for designs of systems for the maritime transportation and storage of liquefied natural gas, with Excelerate Energy of the US, a leading floating LNG terminal project company.

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.

US natural gas supply flows to meet the winter season peak demand in New England has been helped by the Northeast Gateway deepwater LNG import facility using floating storage and regasification units in Massachusetts Bay offshore Boston.

The Northeast Gateway is owned and operated by Excelerate Energy, the US specialist in floating LNG import projects.

In addition to the New England facility, Excelerate has established more than a dozen LNG import facilities in nations in South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Excelerate said its Northeast Gateway reached a peak send-out flow rate of more than 800,000 million cubic metres per day of LNG on February 1, 2019, during the recent freezing weather in the region.

The company said this was a first for the terminal and was completed by two of Excelerate’s FSRUs, the “Exemplar” and the “Express”, discharging in parallel through the company’s proprietary offshore buoys.

Excelerate explained that during the coldest days of the year, demand for natural gas from residential customers rises in New England.

Historically, during these times, as natural gas deliverability becomes constrained in natural gas pipelines, power generators have to burn fuels such as oil.

“This year, LNG imports from the Northeast Gateway facility have complimented the system by suppling energy during this peak demand, allowing generators to continue burning natural gas,” stated Excelerate.

At a flow rate of 800,000 million British thermal units per day, this represents approximately the average gas demand of power generators in the region during the recent January-February winter cold periods.

“Excelerate’s Northeast Gateway has helped New England prepare for the winter months by supplying natural gas to meet the increased energy demand of the region,” said Excelerate’s Managing Director Steven Kobos.

“Deliveries of LNG directly into the Algonquin pipeline system helps to bring much-needed market stability and fuel security to the Northeast,” added Kobos.

The Northeast Gateway was first set up and commissioned more than 10 year ago about 20 kilometres offshore Boston.

The terminal consists of a dual submerged turret-loading buoy system which allows for the connection of the FSRUs that have been specifically designed to meet the conditions of the North Atlantic.

FSRUs act, in all aspects, like a land-based terminal and have the onboard capability to vaporize LNG and deliver natural gas directly into the existing subsea HubLine pipeline operated by Enbridge Inc.’s Algonquin Gas Transmission.

Excelerate has established more than a dozen LNG import facilities for FSRUs around the world and the most recent was in the Asian nation of Bangladesh in 2018.

The Moheshkhali Island venture was co-developed by Excelerate, national energy company PetroBangla and the International Finance Corporation, part of World Bank Group.

The deployment of Excelerate's vessel, the “Excellence”, enabled Bangladesh to have the means to import around 3.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, said it was chosen by Petroleum Pipeline Corp. of Turkey to class a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) ordered in South Korea.

The Aguirre LNG import project company in Puerto Rico, said it was continuing to monitor the bankruptcy proceedings of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and is hopeful of the US territory completing a second import facility in the future.

The Indian Hiranandani group said a floating storage and regasification import project at Jaigarh port near the West Coast city of Mumbai is on scheduled to start commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2018.