US floating LNG player Excelerate Energy has signed a deal with Brazil’s state-owned energy firm Petrobras to charter the 2020-built FSRU Sequoia for ten years.
Under the time charter party and operation and services agreement, which will start on January 1, 2024, Excelerate will continue to deploy the FSRU Sequoia to provide regasification services in Brazil, primarily at the Bahia regasification terminal in Salvador, Bahia.
Excelerate did not provide any additional information regarding the deal.
In April, Excelerate completed the purchase of this 173,400-cbm vessel from Greece’s Maran Gas Maritime for $265 million.
The company took delivery of this vessel in June 2020 from South Korea’s DSME, now Hanwha Ocean.
Since 2012, Excelerate has provided regasification services in Brazil at Petrobras’s LNG import terminals.
According to the firm, maintaining a continued presence in the Brazilian market is a “fundamental part of Excelerate’s strategic position as a reliable backstop to the country’s energy system for which intermittent renewable energy contributes approximately 85 percent.”
In addition to the FSRU Sequoia, Excelerate’s FSRU Experience is currently providing regasification services in Brazil as well.
“Brazil is an excellent market. This agreement is an important step in furthering Excelerate’s long-term sustainable growth plan in South America,” Exclerate’s CEO Steven Kobos said.
“Deploying the Sequoia for 10 more years will position Excelerate well to support Brazil’s efforts to strengthen its energy security,” Kobos said.
Exclerate currently operates ten FSRUs, one of the world’s largest fleets of such vessels, and these units are located around the globe, including in Europe.
The firm also ordered one FSRU in South Korea last year.