India’s Swan Energy waiting on bank approval to finalize Turkish FSRU charter deal

India’s Swan Energy is waiting for approval from a consortium of banks to finalize its FSRU charter deal with Turkey’s state-owned natural gas and LNG firm, Botas.

Swan Energy said in a filling to the stock exchange that its unit Triumph Offshore (TOPL) entered into a term sheet with Botas on December 31, 2022 to charter the 2020-built 180,000-cbm FSRU, Vasant 1.

According to Swan Energy, the charter deal is for a period of one year at the hire charges of $250,000 per day.

Swan Energy owns 51 percent in TOPL, while Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative, also known as IFFCO, holds 49 percent.

TOPL previously entered into a bareboat charter deal with Swan LNG, a unit of Swan Energy and the developer of the Jafrabad LNG import facility, to charter the FSRU for a period of 20 years.

This FSRU was built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries for Swan Energy’s delayed Jafrabad facility in India.

A consortium of bankers led by State Bank of India is financing TOPL and the latter had applied for lenders approval to charter the FSRU to Botas.

However, TOPL is still waiting to receive bank approval and to sign the final deal, Swan Energy said in the filling.

Moreover, the arrangement is “strictly temporary in nature” and has been done since commissioning of the Jafrabad project is delayed, it said.

“In our view, the ‘term sheet’ executed with the charterer, was under normal course of business and did not amount to material event,” Swan Energy said.

The company added it would issue a new announcement once it receives approval from lenders and executes the FSRU charter deal.

Saros FSRU terminal

As previously reported by LNG Prime, Botas will employ the FSRU Vasant 1 at its newly built LNG jetty in Saros Bay.

The FSRU arrived at the jetty in Saros Bay last month, carrying a cargo from Egypt’s Damietta LNG plant, its AIS data shows.

This is Turkey’s third FSRU-based LNG terminal and the second for Botas that already operates the Dortyol facility, served by the 170,000-cbm Ertugrul Gazi, in the southern province of Hatay.

In addition to Ertugrul Gazi, there is also one other FSRU operating in Turkey at the privately-owned Etki terminal in Aliaga, Izmir. The 170,000-cbm Turquoise belongs to Pardus Energy.

Besides these FSRUs, Botas also operates the Marmara Ereglisi onshore terminal, while Egegaz operates the Izmir Aliaga LNG facility.

Turkey is increasing its LNG import capacity to boost its energy security and to become an international gas hub.

Earlier this year, Botas signed a deal with Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz, allowing it access to its LNG import terminals and the Turkish grid.

Also, Botas agreed to purchase LNG from state-owned producer Oman LNG as part of a deal revealed in January.

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