Page 17 - GLNG Week 33

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Golar provides update

on FSRU for LNG Croatia

PROJECTS & LNG player Golar Energy last week provided an
COMPANIES update on its Viking floating storage and regasifi-
cation unit (FSRU) conversion project. Speaking
on the company’s August 13 earnings call, Golar’s
CEO, Iain Ross, said the vessel was due to depart
from China to Europe in late September.
The FSRU will be delivered to LNG Croatia,
which will maintain and operate it over a 10-year
period. Delivery is scheduled by the end of the
year, which Ross said was in line with the original
plan for the vessel. capacity of Croatia’s gas transmission system.
The conversion of the Viking LNG carrier to The ship will join Golar’s FSRU fleet, which
use as an FSRU is progressing in a challenging consists of four newbuilds and four other ves-
operating environment. Ross said the project sels converted to storage and regasification from
team and contractors were “working hard to LNG carriers.
mitigate any COVID-related challenges”. LNG Croatia is developing a floating LNG
In Golar’s earnings release, Ross said the (FLNG) terminal located on Krk Island in a bid
company had been insulated against LNG to diversify European gas supply and enhance
price volatility “to a large extent” thanks to its the continent’s energy security. The company
integrated business model. Golar posted sec- has previously said it would complete onshore
ond-quarter operating revenues of $102.2mn work on the terminal by November, with the
and adjusted earnings of $67.2mn. facility scheduled to enter service on January 1,
Viking has a capacity of 140,000 cubic metres 2021.
and will be able to regasify 300,000 cubic metres In June, LNG Croatia announced that all
per hour of natural gas, equivalent to 2.6bn cubic available capacity at the terminal had been
metres per year. This is in line with the technical booked for a period of three years.™

Shell seeks sale of Norway’s Gasnor

INVESTMENT ROYAL Dutch Shell is reportedly in talks to sell Shell took over Gasnor in 2012, paying
Norway-based gas business Gasnor, with the $74mn for shares in the company that it did not
move forming part of a broader push to offload already own at the time.
non-core assets. Citing sources familiar with the The super-major is a significant player in the
matter, Bloomberg reported on August 20 that LNG industry, and – like a number of other big
Shell had approached infrastructure funds and oil companies – has talked up its efforts to pivot
private equity firms about a deal. increasingly towards low-carbon energy. None-
The super-major has not publicly commented theless, Shell’s non-core LNG assets are potential
Gasnor is expanding on the story. candidates for a sale as it seeks to bounce back
its focus on LNG Gasnor, which is wholly owned by Shell, from the latest industry downturn, which saw
bunkering. started out delivering pipeline gas to its custom- its net profit fall 82% year on year in the second
ers in 1994, and has more recently moved into quarter of 2020, to $638mn.
the small-scale production and sale of LNG from Bloomberg noted that there were signs of
three plants. The company states on its website a “strong” recovery in deal-making activity in
that it owns 16 LNG trailers and 22 LNG termi- the energy sector, after its value had fallen by
nals, as well as two LNG vessels, which run on more than a third y/y in 2020 amid the coro-
the super-chilled fuel themselves. It has been navirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Based on its
producing LNG since 2003. own data, the news service estimates that the
One of the areas the company highlights its value of energy transactions has risen 93%
participation in is LNG bunkering, noting that y/y in the last three months to $139bn. Shell,
Norway is a world leader in gas-powered ship- like other oil companies with assets on the
ping. Gasnor says it has developed a concept for block, will be hoping that this trend will play
small-scale LNG and fuel for ships. in its favour.™

Week 33 21•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17