LNG

US shipping logistics and bunkering company Seaside LNG has signed an agreement with cruise firm Carnival Corp. for re-fuelling services at the Texan port of Galveston.

Stabilis Solutions Inc., one of the leading small-scale US LNG distribution companies, said preliminary first-quarter 2021 revenues had reached a record level.

Stabilis said in its pre-earnings statement that revenues would be in the range of $17.5 million to $17.8 million.

“This revenue range is a 29 percent to 30 percent increase compared with $13.7M in the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 26 percent to 29 percent increase compared with the $13.8M reported in the first quarter of 2020,” explained the company.

The first quarter of 2020 was the company’s previous record revenue quarter.

Stabilis also delivered 13.4 million gallons of LNG during the three months, a 29 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 12 percent rise versus the first quarter of 2020.

Liquefaction

Stabilis is headquartered in Houston in Texas and has a liquefaction facility in the Texan town of George West.

Together with its network of production and distribution partners, it has already delivered more than 250 million gallons of LNG across the US, Mexico and Canada.

“Stabilis is proud to report record revenues for the quarter, beating our prior record quarter, the first quarter of 2020, by well over 25 percent,” said Jim Reddinger, President and Chief Executive of Stabilis Solutions.

“The energy transition is underway and Stabilis’ position as a premier supplier of clean LNG and hydrogen fueling solutions is driving significant growth,” added Reddinger.

“We believe that this trend will continue into the remainder of 2021 and beyond,” he added.

Stabilis explained that the year-on-year revenue increase was largely driven by broad-based growth, including in power generation projects, continued expansion of the company’s Mexico operations and increased activity with aerospace customers.

The company said it delivered LNG to Mexico every day, for example, and its North American customer base includes diverse markets like transportation, greenhouses, agriculture, remote power, mining and industrial thermal loads.

Stabilis, which is listed on the over-the-counter US market OTCQX, will formally issue its full first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, after the close of trading.

Pilot LNG, a US infrastructure company planning the first dedicated liquefied natural gas bunkering facility to serve the Texas Gulf Coast ports of Galveston, Houston and Texas City has signed a cooperation deal with GAC Bunker Fuels (GAC) for the supply of LNG.

The bunker terminal will be located on Pelican Island in the Gulf of Mexico with a final investment decision scheduled for the second half of 2021 and operations starting in 2024.

Pilot LNG and GAC have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA), which outlines the terms of the partnership.

It prepares the ground for Pilot to provide LNG marine fuel to GAC on a Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis for its customers in the Galveston Bay Port complex, as well as Galveston Offshore Lightering Area.

“The Galveston LNG Bunker Port will provide the LNG to supply GAC’s growing market for cleaner marine fuel, particularly as its customers seek economic ways to comply with tightening emissions regulations, including IMO 2020,” said Pilot LNG Chief Executive Jonathan Cook.

“The opportunity to work with such a strong global player like GAC is a very exciting step forward for Pilot and the Galveston project,” added Cook.

The facility infrastructure will be designed around floating liquefaction (FLNG) technology to be engineered, and constructed by Wison Offshore & Marine of Nantong in China.

The Chinese yard is best known for constructing the FLNG barge “Tango FLNG” built in 2017 and other floating LNG vessels.

GAC Global Director for Bunker Fuels, Nicholas Browne, said his company had a proven track record of more than three decades supplying quality marine fuels to the shipping sector.

“This agreement with Pilot will allow us to grow our portfolio of alternative fuels, with LNG as the cleanest and most cost-effective way for shippers to meet compliance,”added Browne.

GAC Bunker Fuels is the world’s only bunkering company with an integrated ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certification for bunker procurement that also covers LNG as a marine fuel.

In September 2020, GAC acted as the bunker broker for the Swedish dual-fuelled vessel “Fure Ven” when it became the first non-US flagged vessel to bunker LNG in the United States, taking on supplies at the Port of Jacksonville in Florida.

Pilot has filed regulatory applications with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and other relevant regulatory agencies, paving the way for a Final Investment Decision on the project in 2021.

As international regulators tighten emissions standards, the maritime industry is increasingly turning towards LNG as the marine fuel of choice due to its significantly lower emissions profile and cost competitiveness.

Analysts said the Galveston Bay area was an ideal location to add LNG bunkering infrastructure.

It had more than 10,500 deep-water vessel visits in 2019 and over 133,000 tug/tow movements on the Houston Ship Channel and is the nation’s fourth busiest cruise terminal.

Stabilis Energy Inc., the provider and distributor of liquefied natural gas as a fuel for customers in North America, has extended its reach into Mexico with the completion of an acquisition and a key joint venture program.