LNG

InfraVia Capital Partners, the France-based equity firm and owner of Spanish-headquartered Molgas Energy, has become the strategic partners of Dutch LNG bunkering operator Titan Energy Holdings with a capital injection in return for a combined minority stake.

Titan Energy, the Amsterdam-based parent company of Titan Clean Fuels, closed a successful funding round for a 45 percent equity stake with further follow-on rights for Molgas.

The value of the total InfraVia-Molgas-Titan transaction was not disclosed.

Molgas itself was acquired three years ago by InfraVia and is a leader in small-scale downstream LNG and the supply of renewable gas made from waste in Western Europe.

Molgas has been active for over 20 years in providing LNG to industrial, cogeneration, vehicle and maritime customers.

LNG supply fleet

Titan for its part owns and operates a diverse fleet of small-scale LNG and liquid bio-methane supply vessels and barges deployed globally.

The Dutch operator has built up experience of ship-to-ship operations across Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, the Cape Verde Islands and the Caribbean.

Titan is also part of a consortium constructing the world’s largest bio-methane liquefaction plant in the Port of Amsterdam, which will produce over 100,000 tonnes of per annum.

“We have been considering a growth partner for some time and believe we have found the perfect partner in InfraVia-Molgas investors,” said Niels den Nijs, Chief Executive of Titan.

“Titan will retain independence, while benefiting from the complementary service offering of Molgas. Legislation and public scrutiny are stimulating the demand for low and zero-emissions fuels with growing momentum,” added Den Nijs.

Capital boost

“The new capital will allow us to accelerate our growth plans and focus all our efforts on the maritime sector exactly at the time of fast-growing market,” the CEO stated.

Fernando Sarasola, Executive Chairman of Molgas, said he was delighted to team up with Titan, which he recognized as the leading independent company in the marine bunkering field.

“Our portfolio of complementary offerings will establish the group as the go-to partner for energy transition LNG and alternative fuels for off-grid industrials, trucking and maritime businesses across Europe,” Sarasola added.

Athanasios Zoulovits, a Partner at InfraVia Capital, said the “critical need for LNG” as a transition fuel for the industrial, mobility and maritime sectors and its efficient pathway to further decarbonisation was becoming increasingly clear.

“Our acquisition of Molgas in 2020 enabled us to get started in this space and Molgas has grown at a fast pace to become a leader in onshore solutions in Western Europe,” stated Zoulovits.

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, has formally taken a final investment decision to build the first three liquefaction Trains and export facilities with anticipated full capacity of around 27 million tonnes per annum with funding from the US, the Middle East and Asia.

Kinder Morgan Inc., the US natural gas pipeline giant and a shareholder in the Elba Island LNG export plant in Georgia, has sold part of its stake in the liquefaction plant.

KMI said it sold a 25.5 percent equity interest in Elba Liquefaction Company (ELC) to “an undisclosed financial buyer” for around $565 million.

After the close of the transaction the Houston, Texas-based company would own 25.5 percent of Elba Island, the same as the mystery buyer.

New York-based Blackstone Credit, a hedge fund and investment arm of the Blackstone Group, would continue to hold a 49 percent interest in ELC, which is now the majority holding.

KMI said the proceeds from the sale would reduce short-term debt and create additional capacity for “attractive investments” including “opportunistic” share repurchases.

It added that the value of the equity interest implied an enterprise value of ELC amounting to $2.3 billion, which is approximately 13 times 2022 gross earnings.

The ELC joint venture was formed in 2017 to construct and own the 10 modular liquefaction units in operation at Elba Island and KMI would continue to operate the facility.

The export plant is supported by a 20-year contract with Shell LNG North America for 100 percent of the liquefaction capacity.

Critical asset

“We are pleased to welcome a new partner into the ELC joint venture,” said KMI’s Interstate Natural Gas President Kimberly Watson.

“Recent geopolitical events have proven how critical liquefied natural gas infrastructure is to meeting global energy demand,” added Watson.

“We believe this investment further shows the value of LNG and demonstrates the important role it will play for decades to come,” she stated.

The Elba Liquefaction facility is in Chatham County in Georgia, near the city of Savannah, and produces around 2.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from its 10 Trains using Shell processing technology.

In the operational plan, ELC then delivers the LNG to Southern LNG Co. (SLNG) for export.

KMI owns 100 percent of SLNG, which owns and operates the Elba Island LNG Terminal, including the LNG storage tanks and the ship dock for import and export.

The statement added that Bracewell LLP served as legal advisor to KMI for the transaction.

Royal Dutch Shell posted its huge pre-flagged asset impairment loss in its earnings with the Integrated Gas division, including LNG, accounting for its own share of losses with write-downs on the Australian Queensland Curtis LNG plant and the offshore Prelude FLNG hull.

The French major Total has posted solid earnings in a lower-priced market place and reported progress on all liquefied natural gas project fronts from Russia to Africa and Australia.

Saudi Aramco has published its prospectus for its planned initial public offering (IPO) with at least 0.5 percent of its shares due to start trading on the Riyadh Tawadul stock market in December and with the company outlining its strategy, including LNG project plans and proposals on meeting increasing domestic natural gas demand.

Natural gas remains the second-fastest growing energy source after renewables through to 2040, with global consumption seen rising 45 percent and LNG infrastructure investment amounting to $35 billion per annum on average, according to the latest World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency.