Golar LNG has entered into finance lease agreements with a consortium of Chinese leasing companies for the refinancing of the existing debt facility for its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit Gimi.
The sale leaseback facility will be approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction is subject to closing conditions including documentation and third-party approvals.
The facility is expected to close within the second quarter of 2025.
The contemplated sale and leaseback facility will have a tenor of 12 years and a 17-year amortization profile, with quarterly repayment installments throughout the lease period.
Upon closing and repayment of the existing debt facility, Gimi MS Corporation is expected to generate net proceeds of approximately $530 million.
This amount includes the release of existing interest rate swaps. Golar will benefit from 70% of these proceeds, equivalent to approximately $371 million.
The FLNG Gimi is deployed at BP-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.
The unit received the first gas injection from the project in January 2025 from the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which allowed for the ramp up of full commissioning activity.