Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 15 2022

NorthAmOil PERFORMANCE NorthAmOil

Excelerate launches $384mn IPO

US LNG player Excelerate Energy launched the US’ shares after its stock market debut.
largest initial public offering (IPO) since January The listing comes at a crucial time for LNG, as
this week, with its listing priced at the top of a Germany and other European countries look for
marketed range to raise $384mn. alternatives to Russian gas supplies. Prior to the
The company, which operates floating stor- invasion of Ukraine, Russia had been supplying
age and regasification units (FSRUs), sold 16mn Europe with 30-40% of its gas.
shares for $24 per share on April 12, after mar- Excelerate reported net income of $41mn
keting them for $21-24. The IPO price gives on revenue of $889mn in 2021. That marked an
Excelerate a market value of around $2.54bn increase on $33mn of net income on revenue of
Excelerate operates based on the outstanding shares listed in its fil- $431mn in 2020, illustrating how LNG demand
FSRUs. ings with the US Securities and Exchange Com- had been booming even prior to the war in
mission (SEC). Ukraine.
The company began trading on April 13 on The Texas-based company, which was
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under founded in 2003, owns and operates 10 FSRUs
the symbol EE. Excelerate’s shares rose 17.5% in in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, the United
its market debut, with investors betting that the Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan and Bangladesh.
company would benefit from Western sanctions It generated roughly 40% of its revenue from the
on Russia as numerous countries scramble to Americas last year. The Asia-Pacific region was
expand their regasification capacity. At one point the firm’s second-largest market, followed by the
in the April 13 session, the company hit a peak Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
valuation of close to $3bn. Excelerate’s IPO marks the first LNG-related
Excelerate’s founder, George Kaiser, remains listing in the US since 2019 as the outlook for oil
the majority owner of most of the company’s and gas companies continues to strengthen.™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES

Murphy achieves first oil at

King’s Quay platform in Gulf

GULF OF MEXICO MURPHY Oil has achieved first oil at the Khale- CEO, Roger Jenkins, said in a statement.
esi, Mormont and Samurai field development “Achieving first oil on schedule and within
project in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. The budget, while managing the challenges of the
company announced on April 12 that oil from COVID-19 pandemic, illustrates the competi-
the project had begun flowing through its King’s tive advantage of our industry-leading offshore
Quay floating production system (FPS). execution ability,” Jenkins added.
Oil is now being produced from the develop- Murphy acquired a 34% stake in the Khaleesi
ment’s first two wells, while completion opera- and Mormont assets in mid-2019. Its partners
tions are underway at the remaining five wells. in those fields include Ridgewood, Red Willow
The start of production for the project, which is Offshore, ILX Prospect, Ridgewood Rialto Hold-
located off the coast of Louisiana, comes ahead of ings, HEDV KLM and CL&F Offshore.
schedule, with Murphy having previously antici- Upon acquisition of the Khaleesi and Mor-
pated reaching first oil by the middle of the year. mont assets, the company integrated its Samurai
Once fully operational, the project is expected discovery into the overall development. Murphy
to produce up to 85,000 barrels per day (bpd) of jointly owns its Samurai field, which was discov-
oil and about 100mn cubic feet (2.8mn cubic ered in 2009, with Ridgewood on a 50:50 basis.
metres) per day of natural gas. The King’s Quay FPS and associated export
“The production coming online is forecast lateral pipelines are operated by Murphy’s sub-
to generate significant free cash flow, which sidiary, Murphy Exploration & Production. The
will allow us to continue to de-lever with $600- FPS is owned jointly by an affiliate of Third Coast
650mn of targeted debt reduction this year and Infrastructure with 50% and entities managed by
the optionality of up to $1bn in 2023, while simul- Ridgewood Energy with the other 50%. The plat-
taneously reviewing our dividend,” Murphy’s form was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries.™

Week 15 14•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9