UK LNG gas facilities double by Exceleration

Excelerate Energy is a private company formed in 2003 by George B. Kaiser, (65) owner of the Kaiser-Francis Oil Company and majority shareholder of BOK Financial (NASDAQ: BOKF),to pursue new LNG importation alternatives into the United States and around the world. Mr Kaiser has an estimated net worth of around $8.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 27-richest person in America. His children's charity George Kaiser Family Foundation is endowed with US$ 1.1 Bn and has an annual income of US$246 Mn. Widowed, he plans to leave bulk of estate to charity.

On December 17, 2003, Excelerate acquired all of the rights to the Energy Bridge™ offshore shipboard regasification technology from El Paso Corporation, including the company’s Gulf Gateway deepwater port. Following the acquisition of the technology from El Paso Corporation, Excelerate assumed all responsibilities for the construction and operation of Gulf Gateway.

Construction, installation and testing of all of the facilities necessary to operate the Gulf Gateway deepwater port were completed in February 2005. Thereafter, on March 17, 2005, the first Energy Bridge Regasification Vehicle (EBRV), successfully docked at the Gulf Gateway port and began deliveries of regasified LNG. Deliveries from that shipment, totaling approximately [2.9] Bcf of natural gas, (20,000 tonnes ish) were completed on March 30, 2005, after which the buoy was returned to its submerged position and the vessel departed.(see Video here)

This week Excelerate Energy LLC today announced the arrival of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo at Teesport in Northern England, the first dockside regasification port and second operational LNG facility in the UK. The construction work began in the summer, meaning that laying all three pipelines, building the loading arm and refurbishing the jetty has all happened in under a year.

At Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, the Excelerate Energy Bridge vessel Excelsior received 132,000 cubic meters of LNG from the conventional LNG vessel Excalibur carrying gas from Trinidad (it could have come from Qatar, Iran, Algeria) . This was a demonstration of a new technology that has dramatic implications for the LNG industry globally, by which LNG is transferred from ship to ship.

From Orkney the Excelsior, travelled to Teesport. This was the first Energy Bridge Regasification Vehicle (EBRV) , which was delivered to Excelerate on January 14, 2005 from the Okpo Bay shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) in South Korea. The vessel is owned by Exmar NV of Belgium and is under a 20-year time charter to Excelerate with a series of extension options.

At Teesport the vessel was then able to directly supply the unique dockside storage facility being fed by natural gass pipelines after on board re-gasification from the transported liquid product.

"This historic project confirms the unique ability of Excelerate Energy's ship regasification technology to quickly and cost-effectively create new market access for LNG supplies," said Kathleen Eisbrenner, president and CEO of Excelerate Energy.The company have two other EBRV vessels, the Excellence and the Excelerate and a fourth the Explorer will be delivered in March 2008 - all built by Daewoo.

"Dockside regasification is a milestone for the LNG industry, opening new market possibilities and options."said Kathleen

Traditional LNG ships must deliver their cargo as liquid to onshore terminals where it is converted to gas. Excelerate Energy's Teesside GasPort was built with the initial capacity to
import up to four LNG cargoes a month, each of which contains about three billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Alistair Darling, UK Trade and Industry Seoubled cretary toured the facilities and the ship on Tuesday and watched the 20,000 tonne shipment (sufficient they say to fuel 60,000 homes) arrive and begin unloading.

This 1st delivery means that in the last 6 months the UK has doubled ("dramatically increased the amount of energy it can import by 140%," says the DTI pres release) diversifying and increasing our security of supply - and tying the UK ito this unique method of delivery for many, many years.

The UK has a 20 year old (but little used) conventional LNG terminal on the Isle of Grain in Kent. Further LNG import terminals and distribution pipelines are under construction at Milford Haven in South West Wales.

Minister Darling said ""This project together with others which have come on-stream this winter, like the pipelines from Norway and the Netherlands have dramatically increased (doubled) the amount of energy we can import." which is just as well seeing they have royally fucked up progress on installing new nuclear power stations by bulldozing their ersatz "consultation" process.

UPDATE 19th February 2007

The Oil and Gas Journal makes the following useful and interesting comment s ....

1. Teesside GasPort, which is a shore-mounted manifold that connects to a high-pressure gas arm onboard the EBRV, will allow Excelerate to deliver as much as 600 MMcfd of gas to the UK grid. This is a significant achievement because it facilitates dockside regasification of LNG. GasPort is less expensive at £40 million than using onshore regasification terminals, which cost £400 million.

2. However, it is unlikely that the EBRVs will deliver substantial LNG supplies to the UK as these gas prices have fallen to 20p/therm compared with 80p/therm when the Teesside GasPort proposal was launched over a year ago. Instead, the LNG is likely to go to the US where prices are higher. Prices have fallen due to mild winter weather and other import gas pipeline supplies coming onstream.

No details of the supply contracts and who they are between are available ... instead of being reliant on Russians we are reliant ona company run by one of the world's richest men who owns the tankers on which the system relies. There might be some who think this doesn't constitute energy security of US buyers are happy to pay more for their gas. ...US domestic gas prices are at least double the UK.

Which is reflected in the comments in the Reuters story about the docking of the Excelsior ..

"..... Excelerate has said that the facility could deliver up to 11.3 million cubic metres of gas a day.

But there is no guarantee that the company will deliver that much LNG to the terminal because it may be able to get much more money for its gas in other parts of the world.

Unlike pipeline gas, LNG tankers are free to choose their destinations and can be sent to the highest bidder."

UPDATE Dec 10th 2007

RWE AG said it has reached an agreement with Excelerate Energy enabling the latter to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the UK via the Teeside GasPort terminal.

RWE said it is working with the LNG importer to evaluate other possible sites in Germany, the UK and other European countries where Excelerate's technology could be used.

The company added that its work with Excelerate complements its plans in the Netherlands, where it reached an agreement in June with Royal Vopak NV and NV Nederlandse Gasunie to acquire a 10 pct stake in the newly-planned Gate terminal LNG regasification plant in Rotterdam.

The UK's GasPort terminal is expected to be operational in January 2007, said RWE.