US floating LNG player Excelerate Energy has ordered a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Excelerate said in a statement on Tuesday that it had signed a binding shipbuilding contract with Hyundai Heavy for one FSRU scheduled for delivery in June 2026.
The FSRU player did not reveal the price tag of the deal.
Excelerate said the FSRU would have a storage capacity of 170,000 cbm as well as a maximum regasification capacity of one billion standard cubic feet per day (1,000 MMscf/d).
According to Excelerate, the vessel would feature HHI’s proprietary LNG regasification system, dual fuel engines, selective catalytic reduction system, boil-off gas management, and other technologies which would drive improved performance and efficiency while lowering emissions.
“This shipbuilding contract with HHI demonstrates our commitment to grow our FSRU fleet at a time when the world needs FSRUs and flexible LNG infrastructure the most,” Steven Kobos, president and CEO of Excelerate, said in the statement.
“Recent geopolitical events, including the energy crisis in Europe, have highlighted the essential role FSRUs play in providing energy security and serving as a complementary backstop to balance the intermittency of renewable energy,” Kobos said.
11 FSRUs
With this newbuild order, Excelerate will have 11 FSRUs in operation or under construction.
Excelerate revealed in August that it had signed a letter of intent with Hyundai Heavy for one FSRU.
Kobos said during the company’s second-quarter results call that the company would also discuss an optional vessel as part of the shipbuilding contract with Hyundai Heavy.
Excelerate took delivery of its latest and the tenth FSRU, Excelerate Sequoia, from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in June 2020.
However, the the US company did not directly order this vessel. It signed a five-year bareboat charter deal with Greece’s Maran Gas for the vessel.
FSRUs are in great demand as European countries look to fast-track LNG imports and slash reliance on Russian pipeline gas.
Excelerate already chartered its 150,900-cbm Exemplar to Finland’s Gasgrid for a period of 10 years and this FSRU should start work in the fourth quarter of this year.
Germany’s E.ON, Belgium-based Tree Energy Solutions (TES), and a unit of France’s Engie will also deploy an FSRU chartered from Excelerate in Wilhelmshaven in 2023.
In addition, the US firm plans to deploy its FSRU Excelsior to serve the Vlora LNG project in Albania after the unit completes its contract in Israel.