Enel Charters Ship for US LNG
Italian utility Enel has chartered a newbuild LNG carrier from the Oslo-listed shipowner Flex LNG, the latter said April 18. The 12-month time charter will start during 2H 2019. Enel has the option to extend the contract by an additional 12 months.
Flex LNG said it intends to employ its 173,400m3 capacity, 2018-built, LNG carrier Flex Enterprise for the charter but retains the option to nominate one of its sister vessels.
Enel imports LNG under long-term contracts from Nigeria – much of it swapped to Engie in return for Russian/Algerian piped gas – Algeria and elsewhere, delivered ex-ship. However in 2014, Enel contracted to buy 3bn m3/yr of US LNG from Cheniere under 20-year, free-on-board contracts. It is understood that delivery of 1bn m3/yr of the Cheniere contract has already begun from the latter's Sabine Pass terminal – primarily for Italy – with the remaining 2bn m3/yr scheduled to start next year from Cheniere's Corpus Christi project (primarily for Spain).
Last month Enel's Spanish subsidiary Endesa said that construction had begun in South Korea of a 180,000 m3 LNG carrier, to be finished by summer 2019, which it will use to lift Cheniere cargoes. That ship will be owned by the Norwegian shipowner Knutsen Oas Shipping. Endesa entered into a long-term charter for the ship the previous year.