LNG

Excelerate Energy Inc., the specialist US company for LNG floating storage and regasification projects from South America to the Nordic region and South Asia, reported steady earnings after a quarter marked by further deals in Qatar and Brazil.

Excelerate Energy, the leading US provider of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) and an LNG trader with increased demand from Europe and Asia, has now completed two long-term LNG supply accords focused on delivering more cargoes to Bangladesh and to integrate its business in the South Asian nation.

Excelerate has just signed a 15-year Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with QatarEnergy after signing a similar SPA in late 2023 with Bangladesh’s national energy company PetroBangla as the customer this time.

Excelerate said that under the QatarEnergy deal the Texas-based company would purchase up to 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Qatar on a delivered ex-ship basis in Bangladesh and beginning in January 2026.

The US company will purchase 850,000 tonnes per annum in 2026 and 2027 and 1.0 MTPA from 2028 to 2040.

Qatar deal

“This inaugural long-term supply agreement with the world’s largest LNG supplier marks a new milestone in our collaboration with QatarEnergy,” said Steven Kobos, President and Chief Executive of Excelerate.

“Qatar delivers approximately 10 percent of its current annual LNG production through Excelerate FSRUs and we are pleased to unlock further new demand in the markets where we operate,” Kobos explained.

“This agreement highlights our ability to secure critical and affordable LNG volumes for our customers with increasing natural gas demand, while driving stable, long-term economic uplift on our existing infrastructure,” he stated.

QatarEnergy President and CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said he was pleased to sign the Excelerate agreement focused on Bangladesh.

“This new agreement will further strengthen our relationship with Excelerate while also supporting the energy requirements of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and its stride towards greater economic development,” added Al-Kaabi.

PetroBangla agreement

Excelerate in the third-quarter of 2023 had signed a long-term SPA contract with PetroBangla.

Under that deal the Bangladeshi company has agreed to purchase between 850,000 tonnes and 1.0 MTPA LNG from Excelerate for that 15-year term.

Excelerate first opened the Bangladesh market to LNG in 2018 with the development of its integrated Moheshkhali LNG FSRU terminal.

In the years since, the company deployed a second FSRU terminal to the Bay of Bengal and has utilised its infrastructure position to win spot LNG cargos sales into Bangladesh.

Excelerate's two FSRUs in Bangladesh deliver around 25 percent of the country’s natural gas supply.

Excelerate Energy, the leading US provider of floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) with increased demand from Europe and South America, has signed a contract to charter an FSRU to Brazil’s state-owned energy company Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) for 10 years.

Excelerate Energy, the leading US provider of floating LNG import terminals with increased demand from Europe, reported soaring revenues linked to operations in Finland and South America and with an imminent project start in Germany.

Feb 28 (LNGJ) - Excelerate Energy, the Houston-based LNG floating terminals specialist, and Calcasieu Pass LNG export plant operator Venture Global signed a 20-year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement with Excelerate buying 700,000 tonnes per annum of cargoes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis from Venture Global’s Plaquemines facility being built on the banks of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans.

   “We are proud to enter this new strategic partnership with Venture Global, which supports our efforts to enhance energy security and accelerate the energy transition by delivering natural gas to our customers worldwide,” said Steven Kobos, President and Chief Executive of Excelerate.

Excelerate Energy, the leading US-based LNG terminal provider in the form of floating storage and regasification units, reported much improved third-quarter results and higher future earnings prospects as projects advanced for Germany and Finland.

Excelerate posted net income for the three months to the end of September of $37.3 million compared with $1.4M in the 2021 quarter.

Revenues for Excelerate in the quarter showed a more than four-fold increase to $803.3M versus $192.1M in the same period last year.

The Texas-based company later confirmed at the end of the quarter the start of the charter process for a project serving Finland and the Baltic state of Estonia.

The Texas-based company also signed a definitive agreement to deploy the FSRU “Excelsior” to Germany for five years.

Excelerate’s “Exemplar’ completed another winter season delivering LNG regasification services to Argentina and in August departed the port of Bahia Blanca and sailed to Europe for maintenance and winterization.

Finland project

The FSRU “Exemplar” was first delivered in 2010 and is 291 metres in length and with a beam of 43 metres and capacity of 151,000 cubic metres.

“Finland’s charter hire commenced in October and winterization upgrades for the ‘Exemplar’ are ongoing,” said Excelerate.

“The ‘Exemplar’ is currently undergoing customer-requested winterization upgrades during a technical stop at the Navantia shipyard in Ferrol (northwest Spain),” said Excelerate

Excelerate and Gasgrid Finland previously announced an executed 10-year, time charter party agreement for Excelerate to provide LNG regasification services, which are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2022.

For the German agreement, the “Excelsior” is expected to provide regasification services at Germany’s planned LNG import terminal being developed at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven by developer Tree Energy Solutions and the German and French utilities E.ON and Engie.

“Excelerate previously announced that the company and Engie signed a term sheet for the deployment of an FSRU to provide flexible and secure LNG regasification capacity for Germany as it continues to seek alternatives to Russian pipeline gas supply,” said Excelerate.

The US company also recently ordered an FSRU newbuild from Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea to be set for hire in the second quarter of 2026.

Earnings overview

The company’s adjusted earnings increased over the prior quarter due to lower idle fuel costs, lower repair and maintenance expenses and higher margins from the Bahia Blanca seasonal charter in Argentina.

Excelerate said this was partially offset by an increase in expenses primarily driven by higher consulting costs to support the company’s transition to a public company structure, along with higher spending related to business development and marketing activities.

“Excelerate delivered another great quarter, demonstrating the strength of our flexible business model against the backdrop of the most significant energy market disruption in decades,” said President and Chief Executive Steven Kobos.

“We are successfully executing our strategy to deploy our flexible LNG infrastructure and pursue downstream opportunities to expand our reach in both new and existing markets,” added Kobos.

“Our portfolio approach to managing our FSRU fleet provides us with a unique ability to deliver the best solutions that scale with our customers’ needs in both developed and emerging markets,” stated the CEO.

The company added that it was increasing its full-year 2022 guidance range.

Adjusted gross earnings are now expected to range between $264M and $274M, up from $249M and $269M.

Excelerate Energy of the US, the leading global floating storage and regasification unit developer, has reached an agreement to enable more liquefied natural gas imports to Brazil as the nation continues to cope with much reduced hydro-electric power because of drought.