Excelerate Energy has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Hyundai Heavy Industries for a newbuild FSRU with option for a second vessel to be discussed
Excelerate announced the LoI during its quarterly earnings call, along with information regarding charters of its existing FSRUs.
“Just this week, we signed a letter of intent with Hyundai Heavy Industries for a new, 170,000-m3 FSRU to be delivered in 2026,” Excelerate Energy president and chief executive Steven Kobos said.
“This new FSRU, when delivered, will be a critical tool used to support the execution of our integrated projects,” Mr Kobos said, noting the second quarter results showed ’continued strong momentum’ for the company.
“We are focused on strengthening our base business and expanding downstream into new and existing markets as we execute our strategy of deploying flexible LNG infrastructure,” he said.
Asked whether the potential newbuild FSRU would come before contracts were secured for its work, Mr Kobos said the company was pleased to have a 2026 delivery option and that the timing of the delivery meant the newbuild would “in all likelihood, displace one of our existing vessels with a customer” and the company intends to further grow its fleet.
Regarding the company’s existing fleet and projects, Excelerate said it will continue its seasonal deployment of FSRU Exemplar through the end of August 2022 at Argentina’s Bahia Blanca GasPort regasification terminal in Argentina. The FSRU will then be deployed to Finland Q4 2022.
Excelerate and Gasgrid Finland have a 10-year, time charter party agreement for Excelerate to provide LNG regasification services beginning Q4 2022. Gasgrid Finland has begun developing a new jetty in southern Finland, near the Balticconnector pipeline, where the FSRU Exemplar wouldmoor.
Excelerate said it has advanced its negotiations with the government of Bangladesh for the expansion of the Moheshkhali LNG terminal, the extension of its existing regasification agreement by five years to 2038, and a multi-year LNG supply agreement. The expansion project was approved in principle by the government of Bangladesh in Q2 2022.
Excelerate said it is also furthering commercial negotiations with Bangladesh for the Payra LNG project. The proposed scope of the Payra LNG project, which is located in the southwestern part of the country, involves the development of an offshore FSRU import terminal and an onshore pipeline to the city of Khulna. As part of the project, Excelerate is also negotiating a long-term LNG supply agreement with the country.
