Singapore-based marine and offshore engineering firm Sembcorp Marine has agreed entered to buy a 12% stake in Norwegian firm GraviFloat for US$4 million, with a right to increase its stake up to 20%.
GraviFloat was formed to design, deliver and operate re-deployable, gravity-based, modularized LNG and LPG terminals for installation in shallow waters. GraviFloat’s near-shore LNG terminals are designed to be installed in shallow waters and are fixed to the seabed when in operation.
Harald Vartdal, CEO of GraviFloat AS, said: “We are pleased to welcome Sembcorp Marine as a stakeholder and partner and look forward to working together in new projects ahead. The GraviFloat system is developed as a cost effective solution to meet the trend toward natural gas fueling and is expected to help accelerate the build-out of natural gas terminal infrastructure, particularly in near-shore locations.”
Wong Weng Sun, President and CEO of Sembcorp Marine, said: “Our investment in GraviFloat represents the Group’s ongoing quest to stay ahead and actively participate across a broad spectrum of the offshore oil & gas value chain. We are excited and keen to work together with Harald and his team in providing more cost effective solutions for our customers.”
The GraviFloat technology (patent pending) allows the LNG terminal to be fully built and completed at a shipyard and installed in shallow waters to facilitate direct ship loading of LNG. The GraviFloat terminals are designed to offer a more cost-competitive solution compared with FSRUs (floating storage and regasification units) and land terminals and can be designed for both liquefaction and receiving terminal services.
Bergen headquartered GraviFloat was incorporated in Norway in 2006, as a spin-off of LMG Marin, a marine engineering and naval architecture company.
LMG Marin is one of Europe’s leading independent naval architecture and maritime engineering companies, and is credited with conceptualising and designing a wide variety of commercial and naval ships, LNG ships, FPSOs and offshore vessels, with references from more than 1000 ships built at shipyards worldwide. LMG Marin runs a highly advanced engineering organisation with a highly experienced team of engineers and naval architects. It is headquartered in Bergen, Norway.