LNG

Höegh LNG Holdings, the owner of 10 floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and two conventional carriers, has agreed to grant a purchase option to Lithuania to buy the FSRU “Independence”.

The FSRU has been in operation at the port of Klaipeda since October 2014.

It was expected to be purchased by the Lithuanians from Höegh LNG and has been chartered since being deployed for around $68 million per annum.

The shipping company said that the charterer of the “Independence”, the Lithuanian, energy storage company Klaipėdos Nafta, had notified Höegh that it would like to exercise and option to acquire the FSRU.

“The transfer of ownership is expected to occur in December 2024,” said Höegh.

“Until then, the existing FSRU contract between a subsidiary of Höegh LNG and Klaipėdos Nafta continues unchanged,” it added.

The Klaipėda LNG terminal is still the main source of gas supply to Lithuania which is building up its already well developed gas transmission infrastructure.

Latvia storage

Klaipėda Nafta is expanding its gas supplies and has gas transmission projects with European Union neighbours, helping Latvia to boost its gas storage volumes.

Höegh LNG Holdings in September 2022 finalised the acquisition Höegh LNG Partners, the affiliate company with five ships and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company's two conventional carriers, each with 147,200 cubic metres of capacity, are the “Arctic Lady” chartered to TotalEnergies and the “Arctic Princess”, chartered to Norway’s Equinor.

Both vessels are mostly on shuttle duty delivering cargoes from the Equinor-operated Hammerfest LNG export plant.

Höegh LNG Holdings revealed the initial merger plan in December 2021 and went on to acquire all outstanding common units not already owned by Höegh LNG Holdings in exchange for $9.25 in cash per common unit.

Höegh LNG Partners, the owner and operator of five floating storage and regasification units, has completed the refinancing of two FSRUs contracted as floating import terminals in Indonesia and Turkey.

Dec 7 (LNGJ) - Höegh LNG Holdings is planning to buy all the publicly held common units of New York-listed Höegh LNG Partners to combine both entities. “The Board received an unsolicited non-binding proposal from Höegh LNG Holdings pursuant to which Höegh LNG would acquire through a wholly owned subsidiary all publicly held common units of the Partnership in exchange for $4.25 in cash per common unit,” said Höegh LNG Partners.

   Höegh LNG has proposed that a transaction would be in the form of a merger between the Partnership and a subsidiary of Höegh LNG. “The Conflicts Committee of the HMLP Board, comprised of only non-Höegh LNG affiliated directors, will retain advisors and will evaluate the offer,” added the partnership.

Höegh LNG Holdings, the Norwegian shipping company acquired in a takeover by Norwegian interests and a unit of US investment bank Morgan Stanley and de-listed, said it was seeking a new Chief Executive and President after Sveinung J. S. Støhle said he was stepping down after 15 years in charge.

Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), the nation's largest shipyard group, has won orders to build seven liquefied natural gas carriers at a time of increased competition from Chinese shipyards.

The company said the orders were worth a combined 1.56 trillion won ($1.35 billion) in value and come at a time when the Korean industry was been winning a larger portion of global orders for all kinds of ships.

KSOE is a holding company of three shipbuilders comprising Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co.

With the latest LNG newbuilds, KSOE said it had obtained orders for 176 ships and two offshore plants worth the equivalent of $16.8Bln so far this year, exceeding its annual order target of almost $15.0Bln.

The Korean LNG carrier orders are a mix from both Asian and European shipowners and covered all three subsidiaries.

South Korea had re-taken the global No. 1 ranking for monthly orders in May 2021 after losing it to China in April 2021, nine months after retaking the leading position in global shipbuilding in July 2020.

During the first part of 2021, Korean shipbuilders also won orders for 31 ships to be propelled by LNG, taking up 46 percent of 67 LNG-powered ships ordered in the year to date.

The Korean yards are still favoured by Russia in its LNG shipping expansion.

A Russian newbuild ordered from Hyundai Heavy Industries will be the latest in a series of Sovcomflot’s next-generation conventional Atlanticmax LNG carriers, with three sister ships already in operation, the “SCF La Perouse”, the “SCF Barents” and the “SCF Timmerman”.

The newbuild will have capacity of 174,000 cubic metres and be owned and operated by Sovcomflot, with options for HHI to build two additional vessels.

The newest Korean-built Russian vessel would be fitted with an X-DF propulsion system, operated by a slow-speed diesel engine with a direct drive to the propellers, enabling a substantial reduction in the vessel’s fuel consumption.

Höegh LNG, the Norwegian project company and fleet owner, said it was business as usual on the high seas, at import terminals for deliveries and production plants for liftings despite the challenges.