Exmar LPG Wins Long-Term LPG Charters, Regas Unit Ordered

Exmar LPG, the shipowning joint venture between Teekay LNG and Exmar NV, announced today the winning of long term charters for four of their midsize LPG carriers.
Statoil signed a time-charter for 5 firm years up to a maximum of 10 years for two of Exmar’s vessels which are currently under construction at Hanjin Subic Bay.  Upon delivery in 2016, these ships will have a capacity of 38,000 m³  each and are intended for LPG trading within North West Europe.
Canada’s Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan signed 10 year time charters for the 2006-built  LIBRAMONT (38,455 m³) and SOMBEKE (38,447 m³). Exmar notes these vessels will be utilized for the transportation of anhydrous ammonia.
In addition, Exmar and Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp (PRE) – through its fully own affiliate Pacific Midstream Holding Corp, have announced the placement of an order for a barge-based floating LNG regasification unit under a 50/50 joint venture. The unit will be constructed by Wison Offshore & Marine at its shipyard in Nantong, China.
This order follows a very similar order placed last month by Vessel Gasification Solutions (VGS) which will also be built by Wison and destined for an Exmar-managed LNG import terminal in India.
Delivery of the Unit is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2015. Negotiations for a long term charter are ongoing and an award is expected by mid-2014.
Nicolas Saverys, CEO of EXMAR commented: “We are honoured to place this order together with our partner PRE, with whom we have already developed the Floating LNG Liquefaction and Storage Unit “Caribbean FLNG” that is currently under construction. We strongly believe this innovative and flexible barge-based regasification concept will further increase the competitiveness of LNG compared to other energy types. By adding a floating storage unit we can customize the storage size and overall availability to specific project requirements.”
Ronald Pantin, CEO of PRE commented: “With this order for a next generation floating regasification solution, PRE and EXMAR are well positioned to serve the LNG global markets”.