CNOOC Charters Floating LNG Terminal
Hoegh LNG named CNOOC Gas & Power Trading and Marketing June 4 as signatory of a three-year time charter for the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), Hoegh Esperanza.
In its 1Q results last week, the shipowner said it had started a three-year time-charter for Hoegh Esperanza with “an energy major” on a hybrid FSRU/LNG carrier basis.
Under the contract, which includes the option of a one-year extension, the ship will be utilised in FSRU mode at the Tianjin LNG terminal in China for no less than an agreed-upon minimum period each year, with the balance of the year in either LNG carrier and/or FSRU mode. The contract will commence with immediate effect, and has a rate structure that corresponds to the mode of use.
The Oslo-listed shipowner said that Chinese policies to encourage consumers to transition from coal to gas had caused natural gas consumption to increase sharply, leading to China importing 12.7mn metric tons of LNG in 1Q 2018, up 61% year on year and necessitating the development of additional LNG import facilities, including FSRUs. Cnooc is planning to start work on expanding its Tianjin LNG import terminal later this year, adding six tanks to bring capacity to 7.25mn mt/yr.
Hoegh Esperanza was delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea on April 5 2018 and has storage capacity of 170,000 m3 LNG and a maximum regasification rate of 750mn ft3/d; it has dual-fuel diesel-electric propulsion. Hoegh CEO is the only FSRU operator with operating experience in China, said the company's CEO Sveinung Stohle.