LNG

Avenir LNG, the London-headquartered global energy supplier for small-scale projects and gas carriers, has signed a Time Charter Party with Vitol International Shipping, a unit of the global commodities company.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., the US natural gas producer completing a merger with smaller peer Southwestern Energy to create American’s biggest natural gas company, reported declines in fourth-quarter and annual net income as it also advanced with various LNG deals.

Dec 19 (LNGJ) - Vitol, the global commodities firm and LNG player, has completed an inaugural biofuel delivery in the United Arab Emirates. The delivery took place in Fujairah in the northeast of the UAE and the only one of seven emirates with a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman. “Vitol has successfully completed its first biofuel deliveries in Fujairah, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to sustainable fuel solutions,” said Vitol.

   “Through its wholly-owned bunker arm, Vitol Bunkers, two vessels received B24 VLSFO on December 8 and December 14,” said Vitol. The fuel was sourced from its Fujairah-based refinery FRL and blended with regionally-sourced biofuel at storage facilities. “Certified biofuels are expected to play a key role in helping the hard-to-abate maritime sector to decarbonise and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a well-to-wake basis,” added Vitol.

Tellurian Inc., the developer of the Driftwood liquefied natural gas export plant near Lake Charles in Louisiana, has ousted co-founder Charif Souki as Executive Chairman and has chosen Souki’s long-time business partner Martin Houston as the new Tellurian Chairman.

The Philippines is gradually increasing its activities in the liquefied natural gas trading and tender market with the Singapore-based unit of commodities firm Trafigura winning the latest Filipino cargo tender.

The Philippines, the newest liquefied natural gas importing nation, has held talks with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and said the JBIC had expressed interest in energy joint ventures.

April 25 (LNGJ) - Vitol Bunkers, the maritime fuel business of global commodities firm Vitol, said it was now working in close alignment with the fuel supply unit of Turkish energy group Petrol Ofisi to offer bunkering services at Turkish ports.

   Vitol Bunkers and Petrol Ofisi will offer re-fuelling for LNG carriers, containerships, oil tankers, car carriers and cruise liners. “With a fleet of 16 barges, Petrol Ofisi is the largest bunker supplier in Turkey, making more than 3,000 bunker deliveries each year,” said Vitol.

Tellurian Inc. has signed an accord to sell the site of the proposed Driftwood liquefied natural gas plant in Lake Charles in Louisiana to a New York-based institutional investor.

Tellurian said in a stock exchange filing that the sale and lease back deal has been the subject of a binding letter of intent for the 800 acres of land owned by Tellurian’s subsidiary, Driftwood LNG LLC.

The agreement with the unnamed investment firm with $120 billion in assets under management will see Tellurian receiving $1 billion for the land and a lease.

“It will consist of the sale by Driftwood LNG and purchase by a special purpose entity to be formed by the investor of Driftwood LNG’s interests in the property for $1.0Bln pursuant to a purchase and sale agreement,” said Tellurian.

On the closing of the transaction a 40-year lease of the property from the purchaser to Driftwood LNG will be signed in the form of a master lease.

The terms of the master lease will include, among other requirements, a capitalization rate of 8.75 percent and annual rent escalators of 3.00 percent as well as a requirement that Driftwood LNG posts a letter of credit equal to 12 months of rent.

Guarantors

There is also a requirement that the equity investors in Driftwood LNG become joint and contingent guarantors of the master lease.

“The master lease contingent guarantors are also required to hold an investment grade rating of BBB or higher or attain an equivalent shadow credit rating, or be otherwise acceptable to the purchaser,” noted Tellurian in its filing.

The Houston-based company is quoted on the American list of the New York Stock Exchange.

The accord contemplates that the parties will use “commercially reasonable efforts” to finalize the purchase agreement and master lease on or before July 14, 2023.

“The LOI will terminate on July 14, 2023 if Driftwood LNG fails to identify the contingent guarantors by such date and will terminate on July 31,” it said.

The satisfaction of the closing conditions in the purchase agreement also including Driftwood LNG securing financing commitments for Phase One of the LNG export project.

Leading US LNG engineering company Bechtel Energy has already been given limited notice to proceed with construction of Phase One of the Driftwood liquefaction plant.

The Tellurian project involves constructing 20 mid-scale processing Trains, each with 1.38 MTPA of capacity and built as five blocks of four Trains.

The Phase One development would include the first two of these blocks with 11 MTPA of output and two of three planned 235,000 cubic metres storage tanks and the first of three planned loading berths for LNG carriers.

The world’s largest energy traders and liquefied natural gas portfolio holders, Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor said their record year for revenues and profits in 2022 was unlikely to be repeated in the near future.

Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy and commodities firm, said its traded liquefied natural gas volumes increased slightly to 17.6 million tonnes during 2022 and with 67 percent sold to Europe in the fourth quarter.