Exmar in Talks with Vopak to Sell FSRU Business

Exmar Belgian LNG and LPG carrier owner and operator Exmar NV and tank storage provider Royal Vopak have launched exploratory discussions on the possibility of an acquisition of Exmars share in its floating LNG storage and regasification business by Vopak. The parties have not disclosed any further details as the outcome of the discussions is currently unknown, Exmar said. The announcement comes on the back of Vopaks plan to strengthen its presence as a service provider in the LNG infrastructure market. Vopak jointly owns and operates two land-based storage and regasification terminals, the GATE terminal in the Port of Rotterdam, and the TLA terminal in Altamira, Mexico. Exmar, which is the co-owner and or operator of 10 FSRUs, has one FSRU and one FLNG facility under construction. The FSRU, being built by China’s Wison shipyard in Nantong, is expected to be delivered by mid-2017. The company said that it is actively developing business opportunities for long-term employment of these two units under construction. Namely, in March 2016 Exmar revealed that a liquefaction and storage deal for the delivery of the FLNG was terminated by a Canada-based oil and gas company Pacific Exploration and Production (PEP) as the liquefaction of LNG in Colombia was no longer profitable. Exmar was supposed to provide an FLNG unit for a project in Colombia during a period of 15 years.