US FSRU player Excelerate Energy has revealed a list of 12 prioritized regasification projects as part of its expansion plans. A number of these projects will require new FSRUs, according to Excelerate’s management.
“As part of our effort to calibrate our growth strategy, we have identified and evaluated in detail a number of organic and inorganic opportunities and have prioritized the most promising ones,” Exclererate’s president and CEO, Steven Kobos, said during the company’s first quarter earnings call on Friday.
He said that the majority of the opportunities the company is exploring are focused in Asia Pacific and the Americas.
“Our commercial teams are now in advanced discussions with several potential partners worldwide,” he said.
Kobos said Exclerate continues to pursue opportunities to develop LNG regas terminals.
“We do this with a focus on priority projects in countries with growing economies and an increasing demand for LNG. These are markets like India, markets like Vietnam, and markets like Brazil,” Kobos said.
“As it relates to capital investment, 10 of the projects range between $50 million and $400 million. Two of the 12 projects have CapEx greater than this range, one of which is Payra,” he said.
Excelerate has two FSRUs working in Bangladesh and is working on the Payra project, which is located in the southwestern part of the country, and involves the development of an offshore FSRU import terminal and an onshore pipeline to the city of Khulna.
In January, the company also signed a 15-year LNG SPA with QatarEnergy to buy to one million tons per annum of LNG from the latter for delivery to FSRUs in Bangladesh, starting in January 2026.
Excelerate Energy signed in November last year a 15-year LNG supply deal with Bangladesh’s state-owned Petrobangla.
Besides this QatarEnergy deal, Excelerate also signed last year a 20-year SPA with compatriot Venture Global LNG to buy 0.7 million tonnes per annum of LNG on a free on board (FOB) basis from the Plaquemines LNG facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
Fleet growth
Excelerate operates ten FSRUs, one of the world’s largest fleets of such vessels, and these units are located around the globe.
Some of the FSRUs are located in Finland, Brazil, Dubai, Pakistan, while one FSRU will also start serving the second FSRU-based LNG import terminal in Germany’s Wilhelmshaven later this year.
In addition to these 10 FSRUs, Excelerate also ordered one 174,000-cbm FSRU at South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2022. It will pay about $332 million for the vessel which is scheduled for delivery by June 2026.
Last year, Excelerate also said it is looking to order another FSRU.
Answering a question about the 12 prioritized projects during the earnings call, Excelerate’s chief commercial officer, Oliver Simpson, said “obviously, a number of these projects will require new FSRUs.”
“We have a growth strategy for our fleet. That’s a core part of our strategy, and we’ll be looking to add whether it’s newbuilds or conversions as appropriate for those projects,” he said.
“But I think also, as you see some of these projects, a number of these projects have offered integrated solutions, which allow us to drive incremental returns, make gas sales, and deliver additional products to our customers,” he said.