Monday, September 20, 2010
EXCELERATE ENERGY ANNOUNCES THE SIGNING OF A TERM SHEET FOR A NEW LNG IMPORT PROJECT AT ESCOBAR, ARGENTINA
THE WOODLANDS, TX, September 20, 2010 – Excelerate Energy L.P. today announced the signing of a Term Sheet with a consortium formed by Argentina’s ENARSA S.A. and YPF S.A. to develop a second Argentinean liquefied natural gas (LNG) importation facility in Escobar, approximately 30 miles north of Buenos Aires.
The Escobar LNG import facility, complementary to the existing GasPort® operation south of Buenos Aires in Bahia Blanca, will allow delivery of up to an additional 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Argentina’s market. Due to its favored location, the GasPort facility in Escobar will have a significant impact on the supply to Buenos Aires and the north of Argentina, adding flexibility and fast response to these growing markets.
“We are pleased to begin a project in partnership with ENARSA S.A. and YPF S.A.” said Rob Bryngelson, President and CEO of Excelerate Energy. “Excelerate Energy’s GasPort facility design has proven again to be an ideal solution for markets needing diverse energy sources, increased supply to meet growing demand, low capital investment and prompt project completion. The overwhelming success of the Bahía Blanca GasPort demonstrates the clear advantages and opportunities afforded by our Energy Bridge™ technology”
The Escobar facility, scheduled for completion in May 2011, will be fully integrated with Argentina’s existing gas transmission utilities. The year-round facility will accommodate an Excelerate Energy 150,900m³ Energy Bridge Regasification Vessel (EBRV®) receiving and regasifying LNG cargos via conventional LNG carriers utilizing Excelerate Energy’s proven Ship to Ship Transfer (STS) process alongside the jetty. In addition to providing basic engineering and design support, Excelerate will provide modular equipment and process control components based on its proven GasPort technology.
Excelerate Energy’s first Argentine project, in collaboration with YPF, was to design a facility in the port city of Bahía Blanca. The Bahía Blanca LNG import terminal required minimal additional land-based infrastructure while providing flexibility, optimal storage and deliverability. The project took less than 12 months to design, permit and construct, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional onshore LNG terminal.
Energy Bridge, Excelerate Energy’s proprietary floating LNG regasification and delivery system, combines the purpose-built EBRV® with a connection to a receiving facility. Excelerate’s specially designed EBRVs allow LNG to be vaporized onboard the ships so that it can be directly fed into natural gas pipelines. The EBRVs can load and unload liquid cargo in the same manner as standard LNG tankers yet also retain the flexibility to discharge the LNG as high pressure natural gas through the use of two independent methods. In an offshore, deepwater application, these vessels are specially equipped to discharge natural gas through the EBRV’s connection with a Submerged Turret Loading (STL™) buoy system (Gateway). When dockside, the EBRVs discharge natural gas through a high pressure gas manifold located forward of the vessel’s LNG loading arms (GasPort).
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About Excelerate Energy®
Excelerate Energy, L.P, based in The Woodlands, Texas, is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer and marketer that is redefining the way LNG moves around the globe. With the proven ability to apply its proprietary regasification technology to a growing network of market access points worldwide, Excelerate Energy can connect LNG suppliers and customers in a way that minimizes costs for both while maximizing the value of each delivery. Excelerate Energy’s fleet of state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly, Energy Bridge Regasification Vessels (EBRVs®) compliment the company’s downstream investments in dockside GasPorts® and deepwater port Gateways™. To further enhance the capabilities of the existing vessels and their cargoes, Excelerate Energy has developed and implemented the first commercially viable program of LNG transshipment via ship-to-ship transfer. This combination of expertise, innovation, and strategic physical assets give the company the equivalent of a flexible, global “pipeline” that can transport LNG from virtually any point to any other point – facilitating delivery to the highest value markets around the world. For more information please visit www.excelerateenergy.com .
