LNG

April 13 (LNGJ) - Two LNG cargoes are heading for the UK over the coming holiday weekend, including one from the Calcasieu Pass plant, located south of Lake Charles in Louisiana, and a second from Qatar, according to shipping data. The 174,000 cubic metres capacity carrier “Maran Gas Ithaca” is scheduled to deliver the US shipment on April 16 to the South Hook import facility at Milford Haven. The 205,940 cubic metres capacity Q-Flex vessel “Al Ghariya” is then scheduled to discharge a cargo on April 18 at South Hook that was lifted on March 30 from Ras Laffan in the Gulf.

Venture Global has applied to regulators to increase activities at the Plaquemines liquefied natural gas export project on the west bank of the Mississippi, about 30 miles south of New Orleans.

Excelerate Energy, the US specialist and a market leader in floating storage and regasfication units (FSRUs), is preparing an initial public offering that will help test the appetite of investors for shares in the natural gas sector of the energy transition.

Excelerate has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to debut its shares and will be circulating a prospectus.

Excelerate intends to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “EE.”

Excelerate is based in The Woodlands in Houston in Texas and is part of a privately held US energy group founded by George Kaiser, owner of the Bank of Oklahoma.

The company has an operating fleet of 10 LNG FSRUs and is the pioneer of over a dozen import projects worldwide.

Execerate has also led the way in ship-to-ship LNG transfers as it started terminal operations in South America, the US, Europe and Asia.

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering are subject to market conditions and have not yet been determined,” said Excelerate in a statement.

Three banks have been nominated to serve as joint lead book-running managers for the proposed offering, Barclays of the UK and US investment banks J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley.

“The displacement of dirtier fossil fuels and the natural complement of LNG to a fast-growing renewables sector makes flexible floating LNG products, such as those provided by Excelerate, a part of the solution to decarbonization,” the company says.

In its latest terminal project Excelerate will help to stabilize the flow of supplies to Brazil through 2022 with a deal to deploy one of its existing FSRUs to the port of Salvador in the northeast state of Bahia.

Under the agreement with the South American country’s state-owned oil and gas company Petróleo Brasileiro Excelerate’s FSRU “Excelerate Sequoia” will supply up to 700 million cubic feet per day of regasified LNG.

Höegh LNG Partners, the US-listed company whose dominant shareholder is the de-listed Höegh LNG Holdings which is now partnered with the infrastructure unit of US investment bank Morgan Stanley, reported reduced third-quarter earnings in three revenue fronts for a reduced fleet of five vessels.

Höegh LNG Partners, the US affiliate of Höegh LNG Holdings now partnered with the infrastructure unit of US investment bank Morgan Stanley, has entered into an agreement with New Fortress Energy for the charter of a floating storage and regasification unit.

Höegh LNG Partners said the “Höegh Gallant” has been chartered for a period of 10 years from the fourth quarter of 2021 to New Fortress with LNG-for-power projects in nations such as Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Jamaica and Brazil, as well as most recently in the Asian country of Sri Lanka.

The Höegh partnership has further entered into an agreement to suspend the existing charter for the “Höegh Gallant” with a subsidiary of Höegh LNG Holdings.

The LNG fleet controlled by Höegh LNG Partners consists of five vessels, mostly FSRUs that operate under long-term charters.

The vessels are the “Höegh Gallant”, the “Höegh Grace” and the “PGN FSRU Lampung” deployed in Indonesia, the “Cape Ann” and the “Neptune”.

Höegh shareholders had earlier approved an offer in March 2021 by a joint venture formed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) and Leif Höegh & Co., a family-owned Höegh shareholding, for a takeover.

The partnership said the charter rate for the “Höegh Gallant” would be lower than under the existing charter for the FSRU.

“However, under the Suspension Agreement, Höegh LNG's subsidiary shall compensate the partnership monthly for the difference between the charter rate earned under the new charter and the charter rate earned under the existing charter with the addition of a modest increase until July 31, 2025,” explained Höegh LNG Partners.

In addition, pursuant to the suspension agreement, certain capital expenditures incurred to ready and relocate the “Höegh Gallant” will be shared 50-50 between Höegh LNG Holdings and the Partnership.

The Höegh Board and the partnership’s “conflicts committee” have approved the new charter and the suspension agreement.

Sveinung Støhle, Chief Executive of Höegh LNG Partners, said the new long-term FSRU contract entered into with New Fortress was an important development for the partnership as it extends contract coverage and average charter lengths.

“The ‘Höegh Gallant’ will serve the Old Harbour facility in Jamaica, where its size and performance will enable New Fortress to further optimize its already highly successful operation,” added Støhle.

Höegh LNG Partners, the US affiliate of Höegh LNG Holdings now partnered with the infrastructure unit of US investment bank Morgan Stanley, has seen its shares plunge over 60 percent after the dividend was slashed.