After last week‘s achieved employment cont[ds_preview]ract, shipping group Höegh not plans to expand its FSRU fleet.
The subsidiary of the Norwegian conglomerate, Höegh LNG Holdings, today announced, that it signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for one firm and three optional FSRUs at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in South Korea.
According to the statement, the 170,000 m3 units have regasification capacity of 750 MMScf/day and full trading capabilities. The first two vessels would be scheduled for 2019, the other two for 2020 in case the order will be finalized. The completion of the contract for the firm vessel is expected for mid-January 2017.
President and Chief Executive Officer Sveinung J.S. Støhle said: »Last week we secured a new FSRU employment contract, and today we follow up with the ordering of our next series of FSRU newbuildings, in line with our declared strategy. With this agreement with SHI, whose selection has been subject to a competitive international tender, Höegh LNG has taken advantage of a very favorable newbuilding market to position itself for further expansion in the FSRU segment.«
Today, Höegh‘s fleet consists of eight units in operation and another two currently being built at Hyundai Heavy Industries. The Bermuda-based Höegh LNG provides floating energy solutions and operates world-wide as owner and operator of floating LNG import terminals; floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), and is operator of LNG Carriers.
New contract for Tema LNG
On 1 December Höegh LNG signed a contract with Quantum Power Ghana Gas Limited for the Tema LNG import terminal located close to Accra in Ghana. It is supported by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana‘s national oil and gas company. The contract is for a period of 20 years with a five year extension option for charterer and is expected to generate an average annual EBITDA of around $ 36 million.
The infrastructure construction for the project is planned to start mid 2017 and expected delivery time for the FSRU is 6 – 12 months following commencement of the construction work. According to CEO Støhle, Höegh with this contract has »full contract coverage for our FSRU fleet.«
