Distrigas News

RasGas Company Limited (RasGas), the Qatar based premium LNG exporter, continues to grow its fleet to meet global demand. RasGas, Teekay Nakilat and J5 name seven Q-Flex LNG carriers that will enter long-term RasGas charters in ceremonies at both the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyards in South Korea. These ships bring the RasGas LNG fleet to a total 20 ships ranging from 138,000 cu.m through to 217,000 cu.m. On the February 20, in the first of two naming ceremonies, the first four Q-Flex ships with a cargo carrying capacity of 217,000 m3, approximately 50 per cent larger than conventional ships and the largest ships currently chartered by RasGas were formally named by VIP sponsors.

The Catalunya Spirit left its location off the coast of Gloucester, Mass., under its own power Friday night, after the Captain of the Port of Boston lifted the detention order placed when the LNG tanker lost propulsion 35 miles east of Chatham, Mass., early last week. The 933-foot tanker has been under positive control at the site of the future Neptune Offshore LNG facility off Eastern Point Light since Tuesday while technicians worked nearly around the clock to complete repairs. At 8:40 p.m., Friday, the Captain of the Port of Boston, Coast Guard Capt. Gail Kulisch, reviewed and approved the final repair certification presented by Lloyd's Register…

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port hosted a Model Port Boston meeting in which the project's partners signed a charter outlining its mission and goal. The model port project, officially named Boston - A Model Port, is one of several Operation Safe Commerce projects underway across the country. In Boston, the project represents a coalition of state, local and federal agencies, and private sector businesses united to enhance port and transportation security while facilitating commerce. The model port project gathers and provides information regarding current security and safety practices in supply chains and critical port activities; assists in collaborative efforts to develop and share best practices for the safe and secure movement of people…

by Dennis L. When the federal government began examining United States vulnerabilities in the days following the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it quickly became apparent that significant weakness existed on the U.S. maritime borders. Many, but not all, of these weaknesses were systemic and derived from both the U.S. open society and the procedures underlying modern maritime commerce. The goal quickly became to reduce the risk of maritime terrorism while not fundamentally altering the efficiencies of the commercial system. It was quickly realized that the threat to the maritime sector consisted of two distinct types: explosives and other contraband being shipped as cargo (particularly in a container) and the ship being used as a weapon…

The LNG tanker Methania (1978-131.235 m³) was sold to Distrigas pursuant to a new cooperation agreement. The capital gain on this sale amounts to $13 million for Exmar.

During the first six months the LPG fleet contributed $19.7 million to the operating result (EBIT) (compared to $12.3 million for the first six months in 2004). This result was positively influenced by a profit of $4.7 million realized on the sale of the 50% participation of EXMAR in the LADY KIRA (5,000 m³/1994) and in the BIRGIT KOSAN (5,000 m³/1999). The Midsize, Ethylene and Pressurized segments contributed as budgeted and Time-Charter levels reflected a firm market sentiment. The VLGC fleet however did not meet expectations particularly due to persistent uncertainty on LPG pricing related to crude oil fluctuations and reduced product availability ex Arabian Gulf.

Stuck at the wrong end of North America's natural gas pipelines, Massachusetts has relied on boatloads of liquefied natural gas to supplement pipeline gas for more than 30 years. The need for LNG has spiked in recent years as power producers have turned to this fuel for the region's newest -- and cleanest -- fossil fuel electricity plants. The safest terminals for unloading LNG are offshore, far away from residential neighborhoods, so it is reassuring to see that plans for two such ports are moving ahead. Both would be 8 miles or more from the coast, southeast of Gloucester. The owner of one would be Excelerate Energy of Texas, which for more than a year has been operating an offshore LNG port in the Gulf of Mexico.

The world's two largest LNG tanker operators, Exmar and Golar LNG, have suspended merger talks, both companies said on Monday. "We are in non-talks. For the time being we are not talking," Norway-based Golar said. "Talks are totally stalled," said Belgium-based Exmar officials. "We are willing to do a deal of like for like, shares for shares or NAV (net asset value) for NAV," officials said. Golar raised $280 million in a private placement in May, with the intention of listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange this month and in New York later this year. Golar is 50 percent owned by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, who has become famous by taking his oil tanker company Frontline through three major takeovers in recent years.

Tractebel LNG North America LLC, operator of the United States' first LNG import terminal in Everett, Massachusetts, and Bergesen, based in Oslo, Norway, announced the launch of Berge Everett, a new 138,000 cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier that will begin making deliveries for Tractebel under an exclusive, long-term charter. Tractebel LNG North America ("TLNGNA") will use the vessel to transport LNG primarily from Trinidad to the company's Everett LNG receiving terminal, to the EcoElectrica facility in Puerto Rico, and to other LNG facilities in the Atlantic Basin. Constructed at the Daewoo Shipbuilding Yard in South Korea, the Berge Everett is 100% owned by Bergesen.