November 23, 2022 [ LNG Prime] – US floating LNG player Excelerate Energy is expecting its 150,900-cbm FSRU Exemplar to start providing regasification services in the Finnish port of Inkoo in December this year.

In October, Finland and Estonia agreed to place Excelerate’s FSRU Exemplar in the Finnish port of Inkoo following a 10-year charter deal Gasgrid signed with the US LNG firm in May.

Gasgrid said in a update on October 14 that it had completed bored-pile driving work at the Inkoo facility. The port structures are due for completion in December ahead of the arrival of the FSRU, it said.

The Finnish state-owned natural gas transmission system operator is expecting the first commissioning cargo to arrive at the FSRU in December while the commercial operations should start in January 2023.

FSRU charter started
Excelerate said in its third-quarter results report that the FSRU charter hire with Gasgrid had started on October 1.

According to the firm, the FSRU Exemplar is still undergoing customer requested winterization upgrades in Ferrol, Spain.

The FSRU, which can supply more than 5 billion cubic meters per year of regasification capacity, arrived at Navantia’s yard in El Ferrol from Argentina on September 22.

Following completion of the works, the FSRU would begin providing regasification services at the port of Inkoo in December, Exclerate said.

The US LNG firm also said that its Finnish gas marketing company is “actively pursuing near-term gas sales opportunities.”

Besides this unit, Excelerate’s FSRU Excelsior will start serving another European country next year.

The company recently finalized a five-year contract with Germany to charter its FSRU Excelsior for the Wilhelmshaven project being developed by E.ON, TES, and Engie.

Exclerate said in the results report that the charter hire for this vessel would start in the first quarter of 2023, while Germany is expected to deploy the FSRU for regasification services in Wilhelmshaven before winter 2023/2024.

Net income up
Excelerate, which recently ordered a newbuild FSRU in South Korea, said its net income of $37.3 million for the third quarter increased compared to a net income of $1.4 million in the same quarter last year and a loss of $4 million in the prior quarter.

Net income increased over the second quarter primarily due to the one-time charge in the second quarter related to the early extinguishment of the Excellence lease as part of the IPO-related FSRU acquisition, it said.

Revenues rose to $803.3 million in the quarter compared to $192.1 million last year and $622.9 million in the prior quarter.

Adjusted Ebitda and Adjusted Ebitdar for the third quarter of 2022 increased to $77.5 million and $86.4 million, respectively.

They rose over the prior quarter due to lower idle fuel costs, lower repair and maintenance expenses, and higher margins from the Bahia Blanca seasonal charter in Argentina, Excelerate said.

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