February 03, 2020 [LNG Industry] – EETL is a joint venture between Engro Corp. and Royal Vopak of the Netherlands.

Under the terms of the agreement, Excelerate will exchange its existing Exquisite floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with a newbuild FSRU, Hull 2477. Hull 2477 is currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard, and will increase EETL’s send-out capability by over 150 million standard ft³/d. In addition to this, it will also increase EETL’s LNG storage capacity from 150 900 m³ to 173 400 m³. Excelerate claims that it will take delivery of Hull 2477 in April this year, and EETL projects beginning expanded operations in Pakistan before winter 2020.

Excelerate Chief Commercial Officer, Daniel Bustos, said: “We are proud to partner with Engro and Vopak on this expansion to help meet the growing demand for natural gas in Pakistan. We continuously work with our customers to ensure our terminals adjust to the changing needs of their markets.

“In the nearly five years of essentially non-stop operations in Pakistan, we have a proven track record of safe and reliable operations at peak performance.”

CEO of EETL, Jahangir Piracha, added: “Excelerate Energy has been an excellent partner who has made it possible for EETL to cater to such a high level of utilisation of our regasification capacity. It is our trust in their operational excellence that we are now jointly undertaking the expansion of our terminal.”

The EETL terminal is Pakistan’s first floating LNG import terminal. It commenced operations in March 2015, and utilises the Exquisite FSRU, delivering up to 690 million standard ft³/d of natural gas directly into Sui Southern Gas Co.’s natural gas pipeline system. The Exquisite currently fulfils as much as 15% of Pakistan’s domestic daily natural gas requirements and is recognised as the most utilised FSRU worldwide. To date, EETL has imported more than 275 LNG cargoes.

In September last year, Excelerate and Maran Gas Maritime Inc. (MGM) signed a five-year bareboat charter agreement for Hull 2477. According to the statement, Excelerate has the option to purchase the FSRU at any time during the duration of the contract.

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