New Fortress Energy said Monday it had executed a definitive agreement to charter the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (“FSRU”) Energos Winter from Brazil's Petrobras starting in December 2023.
The FSRU Energos Winter will be immediately deployed to Terminal Gas Sul (“TGS”), NFE’s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, which will start commercial operations ahead of schedule in January 2024.
“We are extremely pleased to reach this agreement with Petrobras and begin operations at the TGS terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil ahead of schedule in January 2024. The TGS terminal is a unique, high-growth opportunity for NFE, as connection to the pipeline system in south Brazil offers a diverse and near-term set of opportunities across power and gas supply," said Andrew Dete, Managing Director of New Fortress Energy.
The Energos Winter will be sub-chartered by NFE through the remaining term of the Petrobras charter with Energos infrastructure and then direct-chartered by NFE on a long-term basis with Energos. This will enable NFE to commence commercial operations at TGS in January 2024 and continue uninterrupted service on a long-term basis. Energos Infrastructure, the owner of the Energos Winter, is owned 80% by funds managed by Apollo and 20% by NFE.
The Energos Winter has been part of Petrobras’s fleet since 2009 and will be handed over to NFE in December this year.
“The plan was that the vessel would start operating for NFE at the end of 2024, once the contract with Petrobras had expired. However, as Petrobras has recently chartered the “Excelerate Sequoia”, we decided to accelerate the redeployment of the Energos Winter, as this will help to open up the Brazilian natural gas market, and will improve the flexibility and reliability of the country's supply”, explained Maurício Tolmasquim, the director of Energy Transition and Sustainability at Petrobras.
Petrobras will continue to use the ships “Excelerate Experience” and “Excelerate Sequoia”, for its operations at the LNG regasification terminals in Guanabara Bay/RJ and Todos os Santos Bay/BA.
Petrobras said that the sub-charter of the “Energos Winter” is another decision Petrobras has taken to optimize its logistics assets, by utilizing more efficient technology with less impact on the environment. The Excelerate Sequoia, Petrobras said, is one of the most modern regasification vessels in the world.