LNG

Burckhardt Compression, the Swiss LNG-equipment maker, is providing a comprehensive overhaul service for fleet owner Teekay LNG as part of a long-term service agreement between the two companies.

Teekay LNG has interests in 47 LNG carriers, 23 mid-size liquefied petroleum gas carriers and seven multi-gas carriers.

Part of Teekay’s LNG fleet is equipped with dual-fuel propulsion systems that use boil-off gas (BOG) for fuel to deliver cargoes around the world.

Each of these vessels is equipped with a Burckhardt-supplied Laby®-GI BOG compressor that supplies fuel to the main and auxiliary engines as well as the reliquefaction system and the gas combustion unit.

“After five years in operation, the compressor on the ‘Creole Spirit’ was due for a scheduled maintenance inspection during dry-dock in Singapore,” explained Burckhardt.

“Dry-dock maintenance projects are planned years in advance. With hundreds of specialist technicians and engineers working for dozens of suppliers, precision coordination by all those involved is essential,” added the company, based in Winterthur, northern Switzerland.

“The resources involved and the scale of these projects mean that everyone has to deliver their part perfectly for the on-time completion of the whole scheme,” said Burckhardt.

Burckhardt said its team planned and coordinated the numerous groups of contractors working on the compressor skid in the confines of the compressor machinery room to ensure optimum working safety and efficiency.

As the only BOG compressor on board, it is a crucial piece of equipment and the maintenance project was essential for continued availability.

“Thanks to more than a year’s planning, the service ran with Swiss precision and was completed within the 13 days allotted, ensuring the complete dry-dock program was also accomplished on time and without any safety incidents,” stated Burckhardt.

Preparations included tailor-made packing cases for all the parts that were shipped to the Singapore Service Center to ensure safe transportation.

Burckhardt’s on-site engineers were also able to quickly provide a solution to additional components of the control system that needed to be replaced.

With such a successful project, Teekay LNG has said that it appreciated the benefits of the partnership with Burckhardt, which adds considerable value to their operation.

“The fleet of LNG vessels equipped with the Laby®-GI BOG compressor will continue to deliver reliable service and contribute to reduced sulfur and CO2 levels,” added Burckhardt. 

Dec 2 (LNGJ) - Teekay LNG Partners said a special meeting of common unit-holders of the Partnership voted to approve the proposed acquisition by merger of Teekay LNG by a unit of the US investment fund Stonepeak.

   “In addition, Teekay LNG has received all required customer approvals to complete the merger,” stated Teekay. “Upon closing of the merger, Teekay LNG’s common unit-holders will receive $17.00 per common unit in cash. The merger is currently anticipated to close in mid-January 2022,” it added.

Teekay LNG Partners, whose gas group units own, charter or have stakes in 77 vessels, including 47 liquefied natural gas carriers and 30 liquefied petroleum gas or multi-gas vessels, reported a first-quarter net profit following a loss in the year-ago period as voyage revenues also jumped.

First-quarter net income attributable to partners and preferred unit holders swung to a profit of $87.59 million from a loss of $32.90M in the prior-year period.

Voyage revenues increased 9 percent in the first quarter to $152.80M versus the $139.88M in the in the same three months of 2020.

“Results were positively impacted by operational claims under the Partnership’s charter contracts, lower repairs and maintenance expenses and lower net interest expense during the first quarter of 2021,” said the company.

“These increases were partially offset by redeployment of certain LNG carriers at lower rates and unscheduled off-hire for repairs,” added Teekay.

Teekay said it secured three LNG charters during March and April 2021, increasing the Partnership's LNG fleet to 98 percent fixed for the remainder of 2021, and 89 percent fixed for 2022.

In its chartering activities, the Partnership in April 2021 secured a fixed-rate charter contract for the “Oak Spirit” LNG carrier, which is expected to commence in August or September 2021, for a period of one-year.

In March 2021, a one-year, spot market-linked charter contract, with a one-year, fixed-rate option was arranged for the “Creole Spirit” LNG vessel.

Both of the vessels are modern, next generation, large LNG carriers with two-stroke engines with M-Type Electronically Controlled Gas Injection (MEGI).

As regards the dual-fuel, diesel-electric powered carrier, “Arwa Spirit”, which is 52 percent-owned by Teekay, the company said the charterer had exercised its one-year option to extend the contract to May 2022 at a fixed-rate.

“The strength of our fixed-rate LNG contract portfolio was evident again this quarter as Teekay LNG continued to generate strong earnings and cash flows even as the broader spot LNG shipping market declined from the high levels experienced during the recent winter period,” said Mark Kremin, President and Chief Executive of Teekay Gas Group Ltd.

“This decline was short-lived, however, as LNG demand rebounded counter-seasonally in late-March and into the second quarter of 2021,” added Kremin.

“We were able to take advantage of this strength by chartering out three LNG vessels, including one on a 12-month spot market-linked contract that allows us to achieve full utilization of the vessel while also retaining upside to strong markets,” stated the CEO.

Teekay LNG Partners, whose gas group units own, charter or have stakes in 77 vessels, including 47 liquefied natural gas carriers and 30 liquefied petroleum gas or multi-gas vessels, reported annual net income almost halved, though its long-term charters strategy partially protected the company from the worst of the challenges.

Gaztransport and Technigaz, the French designer of liquefied natural gas maritime and onshore storage systems, has received a second order from the Zvezda Shipyard in the Russian Far East for the tank designs of 10 ARC7 ice-breaking LNG carriers.

GTT said each vessel would offer a capacity of 172,600 cubic metres capacity and be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system.

GTT technologies have been adapted for heavy environmental conditions, allowing LNC carriers to operate and navigate safely in ice-covered waters.

“These ARC7 vessels will contribute to the projects of the Russian LNG producer Novatek,” said GTT.

The 10 carriers are scheduled to be delivered between the second half of 2024 and the end of 2025.

“We are very pleased to work with Zvezda and look forward to continuing this partnership through this second order for 10 ARC7 ice-breaking LNG carriers,” said Philippe Berterottière, Chairman and Chief Executive of GTT.

The Zvezda complex is located at Bolshoi Kamen on the coast of the Sea of Japan and about 12 miles northeast of the city of Vladivostok.

Zvezda signed a technical assistance and license agreement with GTT in June 2020.

The new generation of carriers built by Zvezda will serve the new plant of Russian natural gas company Novatek and partners from France, China and Japan.

GTT said these unique LNG carriers are intended to transport cargoes from the project being developed on the Gydan Peninsula in northern Siberia.

Zvezda is owned by a consortium of Russian energy companies, including Rosneftegaz, Rosneft and the financial affiliate of Gazprom, Gazprombank.

The Russian shipbuilder obtained its GTT licence after a qualification process that began in September 2017, including the construction of a Mark III technology mock-up.

The shipyard plans to specialise in the construction of large-capacity vessels, ice-class ships, special vessels and marine equipment or offshore platforms.

Construction of LNG carriers is one of the priority directions of the production programme at the shipyard.

The first vessel for Arctic LNG II will be constructed at the Zvezda shipyard for Russian shipping line Sovcomflot and be financed by the Russian VEB Group, a development bank.
The first carrier and its sister ships will be capable of traversing the Northern Sea Route.

The newbuilds will be designed for year-round operations in the ice conditions of the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob and will be able to sail independently through ice over two metres thick.

Sovcomflot LNG carriers currently deliver cargoes for Yamal plant of Russian natural gas company Novatek and for Gazprom’s Sakhalin plant in the Russian Far East.

Novatek, the Russian natural gas company and operator of the Yamal LNG export plant in northern Siberia, reported that its own share of cargo sales on international markets had dropped my more than 25 percent in 2020.

The company said third-quarter natural gas sales volumes, including volumes of LNG sold, amounted to an aggregated 16.56 billion cubic metres, representing a decrease of 0.8 percent compared with the prior year.

Novatek’s quarterly LNG volumes sold on international markets dropped 27.6 percent and amounted to the equivalent of 2.20 Bcm (1.63 million tonnes) versus 3.04 Bcm in the 2019 quarter.

Novatek is the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia and in December 2017 entered the global LNG market by starting up the Yamal LNG project.

Novatek’s Yamal plant has three liquefaction Trains on stream, each with nameplate capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per annum.

A smaller fourth Train at Yamal is currently being completed and will produce 900,000 tonnes per annum, taking overall production to 17.4 MTPA.

French energy company Total and China National Petroleum Corp. are the other main shareholders in the Yamal plant. Total additionally owns a 19.4 percent stake in the Novatek company.

Novatek’s upstream activities are concentrated mainly in the prolific Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, which is the world’s largest natural gas producing area and accounts for about 80 percent of Russian natural gas output.

The company added that nine-month LNG sales dropped 29.6 percent to 7.12 Bcm compared with 10.11 Bcm in the same 2019 period.

Natural gas volumes sold in the Russian Federation in the third quarter rose 5.1 percent and totaled 14.36 Bcm versus 13.66 Bcm in the same three months of 2019.

Russian Federation pipelines sales in the first nine months of the year were down 1.1 percent to 47.03 Bcm.

“As of the end of September, Novatek had 1.5 Bcm of natural gas, including LNG, and 743,000 tons of stable gas condensate and petroleum products in storage or transit and recognized as inventory,” said the company.

“The decrease attributable to volumes sold on international markets was mainly due to the decrease of Yamal LNG shareholders’ share, including Novatek’s share, of LNG volumes sold on the spot market, and a corresponding increase in Yamal LNG direct sales under long-term contracts,” explained Novatek.

Teekay LNG Partners recorded strong earnings for the fourth quarter and the full year after successfully completing its newbuild programme and securing attractive time-charters during the year amid the start-up of the Bahrain import project in the Gulf.

The Teekay General Partners board overseeing Teekay LNG Partners and its fleet of almost 50 LNG carriers, has overhauled its board of directors to help tackle the evolving strategies in the shipping sector.

Teekay LNG Partners, the US affiliate of the tanker fleet owner and operator of almost 50 LNG vessels, said it secured charters on three LNG carriers at attractive rates and was preparing to start the floating Bahrain LNG terminal in the Gulf as it swung to a net profit from a previous loss.

Teekay LNG Partners, the carrier fleet operator, posted a more than 14 percent increase in total cash flow from vessel operations of $150.1 million in the fourth quarter and $515.3M for all of fiscal 2018 as it forecast rising income from the company’s stake in the Bahrain LNG import project in the Gulf.