Floating player Hoegh LNG said it has appointed Erik Nyheim as its new president and chief executive effective from mid-August this year.
Nyheim comes from the position as partner of Boston Consulting Group’s Norwegian office where he has led their maritime practice since 2019. Prior to this, he worked for more than 15 years with the Wilhelmsen group, according to a Hoegh LNG statement on Wednesday.
To remind, Sveinung Stohle left the floating LNG player last year after 15 years at the helm. Thor Jorgen Guttormsen replaced Stohle as interim CEO of the firm owned by Leif Hoegh and funds managed by US-based Morgan Stanley Infrastructure.
Hoegh LNG’s board chairman, Morten W. Hoegh, welcomed the appointment of Nyheim to lead the company at a “very exciting time”.
“He will bring important and relevant experience for the role as president and CEO, enabling us to successfully realize our vision of enabling the transition to clean energy,” he said.
“I am impressed by how the company has developed to become the world’s leading owner and operator of FSRUs and look forward to leading the next phase of the company’s development in a period when security of supply and energy transition are high on the agenda,” Nyheim said.
FSRUs wanted
Hoegh LNG’s fleet consists of ten FSRUs and two LNG carriers, including five FSRUs owned by Hoegh LNG Partners.
European countries, such as Germany, are currently on the hunt to secure FSRUs as they look to reduce reliance on Russian gas.
Sources previously said that Hoegh LNG’s uncommitted 170,000-cbm FSRU Esperanza may serve one of the planned terminals in Germany under a charter deal, but the firm has not commented on this development.
In March, the German government said Uniper and RWE were finalizing charter talks to secure three FSRUs for Germany, while the government mentioned the fourth unit as well in a recent progress report.
Germany will invest about 2.94 billion euros ($3.09 billion) in these developments.