Cheniere triggers option for fifth Flex LNG carrier
US LNG company Cheniere Energy has exercised an option agreement to charter a fifth LNG carrier from Bermuda-based supplier Flex LNG, Flex LNG said on April 1.
Cheniere will receive the Flex Aurora for a three-and-a-half-year time charter in the third quarter of 2022, as stipulated by the option clause in its April 2021 contract. It has commissioned three vessels from Bermuda-based Flex already under the agreement, for minimum durations ranging from three to 3.8 years.
Cheniere Energy is currently expanding its Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, having completed the sixth of nine planned liquefaction trains by early February. Sabine Pass's liquefaction capacity currently amounts to 30mn metric tons/yr, and Cheniere also has a 15mn mt/yr export plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.
It was unclear whether both LNG export facilities would use the new Flex LNG carrier. The contract was also adjusted to accelerate the pick-up of Cheniere's fourth transit tanker, the Flex Volunteer, to mid-April from the third quarter of this year. To facilitate the expedited delivery, Cheniere's time charter for the vessel has been extended for a few months, beyond the original term of three-and-a-half years.
Flex LNG's existing fleet comprises large carriers with LNG cargo capacities of between 173,400 and 174,000 m3. The vessels are designed for "large parcel, long haul" transportation of LNG fuels.
Fourth quarter revenues at Flex LNG hit an all-time high of $114.6mn, rising by 40% from $81.8mn quarter/quarter. Company CEO Oystein Kalleklev said the result was due to four spot market deals for LNG carriers that generated "red-hot" charter prices.