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Excelerate Energy Announces Asset Optimization Plan

2010-04-09T16:45:00.017-05:00

THE WOODLANDS, TX, April 09, 2010 - Excelerate Energy L.P. announced today it is accepting value propositions from LNG counterparties to participate in asset optimization discussions centered around its Gulf Gateway Deepwater Port. Excelerate will explore creative asset structures including capacity slots, regasification, options, swaps and discretionary dedicated shipping to maximize natural gas value within the strategic Atlantic basin.

"Excelerate Energy currently benefits from several successful value-chain partnerships with cooperative arrangements, and this plan represents a natural extension. We expect these proactive efforts to continue to strengthen our position in this dynamic global LNG market," said Rob Bryngelson, CEO of Excelerate Energy.

Gulf Gateway enjoys a competitive advantage over conventional land-based LNG receiving terminals due to its inherent flexibility, storage and reliability. This facility discharges natural gas directly into a substantial number of interstate and intrastate pipelines. This direct access to the NYMEX-traded Henry Hub provides arbitrage opportunities within the U.S natural gas pipeline grid. Additionally, Gulf Gateway can accept virtually all qualities of LNG due to the presence of downstream processing.

Beyond traditional arbitrage, Gulf Gateway provides international gas marketers with incremental value from oil-based pricing derived from several processing facilities. Furthermore, it provides unique on-ship floating storage as well as access to affordable high-turn salt-dome. Gulf Gateway demonstrated its reliability during Hurricane Katrina. Excelerate's Energy Bridge Regasification Vessel (EBRV^TM), Excellence, continued to discharge natural gas supplies into the market long after other natural gas producers were forced to evacuate and shut-in.

At present, Excelerate Energy is involved in collaborative discussions to develop and evaluate high-level structures with LNG supply chain candidates.

Andree Stracke, CCO of Excelerate Energy stated, "We are optimistic during this early stage of discussions and are looking forward to these and other dialogues progressing toward advanced stages."

This June, Excelerate will short-list qualified counterparties to begin final negotiations. For more information, please contact gg@excelerateenergy.com

# # #

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, LNG Regasification Vessels (LNGRVs) compliment the company’s downstream investments in dockside GasPorts and deepwater port Gateways. To further enhance the capabilities of the existing LNGRVs 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 .

Media contacts
Cheryl Floyed
Manager - Marketing and Communication
Tel: (832) 813.7685
Email: cheryl.floyed@excelerateenergy.com

Excelerate Energy Announces Agreement To Deliver 4 Cargoes into Argentina's Winter LNG Import Facility

2010-03-31T13:45:00.006-05:00

Excelerate Energy Announces Agreement To Deliver
4 Cargoes into Argentina's Winter LNG Import Facility

Bahia Blanca Facility Enters its Third Year of Operations

THE WOODLANDS, TX and BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, March 31, 2010 - Excelerate Energy L.P. today announced the sale of four cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be delivered into Argentina's first LNG importation facility located in the port city of Bahia Blanca, approximately 400 miles south of Buenos Aires. Excelerate Energy will deliver the cargoes from their own fleet of purpose-built Energy Bridge® Regasification Vessels (EBRVs).

Argentina's State-owned utility company ENARSA issued two tenders in March, 2010, seeking a total of 14 cargoes of LNG for delivery in 2010. The first tender was for 12 cargoes and the second one for two cargoes. Excelerate Energy's four cargo agreement is being supplied from their own trading portfolio. Excelerate will start delivering these cargoes in April and will deliver the last cargo in July.

"Excelerate Energy considers the four cargo agreement from these two tenders a significant achievement for the company," said Andree Stracke, CCO of Excelerate Energy.

Jointly-developed with YPF, Bahia Blanca GasPort® was the fourth of Excelerate's five LNG facilities and second of three dockside GasPorts. The facility is capable of delivering up to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Argentina's market. Each of the four LNG cargoes to be delivered contains an equivalent of approximately three billion cubic feet of natural gas. The Bahia Blanca GasPort will begin its third year of service with the delivery of these cargoes during Argentina's high demand winter season.

At the Bahia Blanca GasPort, one of the company's EBRVs will dock alongside a dedicated jetty where it will connect to the onshore facility, and feed regasified natural gas directly into Argentina’s gas distribution system. The LNG cargoes will be supplied to the docked EBRV utilizing ship-to-ship transfer procedures.

Excelerate Energy's specialized vessels are equipped with both an onboard regasification system as well as normal LNG discharge capability, enabling the vessels to offload at conventional LNG terminals, their own facilities and from ship to ship. Excelerate Energy pioneered LNG transshipment via ship-to-ship transfer.

# # #

About Excelerate Energy
Excelerate Energy, L.L.C., 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, LNG Regasification Vessels (LNGRVs) compliment the company’s downstream investments in dockside GasPorts and deepwater port Gateways. To further enhance the capabilities of the existing LNGRVs 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.

Media contacts
Cheryl Floyed
Manager – Marketing and Communication
Tel: (832) 813.7685
Email: cheryl.floyed@excelerateenergy.com

Excelerate Energy successfully delivers seven winter cargos

2010-03-24T13:35:00.004-05:00

Excelerate Energy Successfully Delivers Seven Winter Cargos
Consecutive deliveries support high demand during New England's peak season

The Woodlands, Texas and Salem, Massachusetts, March 24, 2010 - With the departure of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Exquisite on March 8, 2010, Excelerate Energy, L.P., (Excelerate Energy) owners / operators of Northeast Gateway (NEG) Deepwater Port, today confirmed successful completion of seven LNG cargos through the Port with the first delivery in November 2009.

The facility was designed and constructed specifically to support the anticipated high demand for natural gas from the New England area during their peak winter heating seasons. The facility received the first cargo for the most recent winter heating season on Nov 19th 2009 with the arrival of Excelerate Energy's Energy Bridge® Regasification Vessel (EBRV™) Excellence. Delivering natural gas at sendout rates varying between 180 and 500 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), the NEG Port received a new delivery approximately every 10 days from Excellence, Explorer, Express, Exquisite and Excelerate. These LNG cargos were sourced from Egypt, Trinidad and Qatar and the volumes were marketed to customers in the Northeast by Barclays Capital.

The regasification system developed by Excelerate Energy allows its purpose-built EBRVs to regasify its cargo of LNG and deliver vaporous natural gas through its two submerged turret loading buoys (STL™) located approximately 90 feet below the water surface when not in use. With this technology they can achieve optimal sendout rates, maintain consistent flow and avoid interruption. The successful completion of seven consecutive deliveries through the NEG Port further demonstrate Excelerate Energy’s ability to deliver reliable base-load natural gas supplies into the New England market.

The NEG facility commenced commercial operations in 2008 and is located approximately 15 miles east of Boston in Massachusetts Bay. Excelerate Energy contracted with Algonquin to extend a 16-mile pipeline lateral from Spectra Energy's HubLine to the Deepwater Port.

-30-

About Excelerate Energy, L.P.:
Excelerate Energy, L.P. (Excelerate Energy), based in The Woodlands, Texas, is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer and marketer that's redefining the way LNG moves around the globe. With the proven ability to apply its proprietary Energy Bridge 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 EBRVs 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

Tel: (832) 813-7100
Email: info@excelerateenergy.com

Media contacts
Cheryl Floyed
Manager – Marketing and Communication
Tel: (832) 813.7685
Email: cheryl.floyed@excelerateenergy.com

NECN Exclusive: Inside Boston's offshore LNG terminal

2010-01-15T14:39:00.002-06:00

See The Video

(NECN: Peter Howe, on Massachusetts Bay) It's a crucial -- but controversial -- energy source New England can't do without: liquefied natural gas. As controversy rages in Boston about LNG tanker shipments into Boston Harbor, in an NECN exclusive, reporter Peter Howe and videographer Mike Bellwin on Thursday got to be the first journalists aboard a new offshore LNG terminal that keeps fuel deliveries 18 miles offshore.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop), and other officials are alarmed by reports that the Distrigas LNG facility in Everett could as soon as next month begin receiving LNG shipments from a plant in Yemen, an Arabian Peninsula nation known as a hotbed for Al Qaeda terrorists. DeLeo convened a summit meeting at the State House Wednesday night with Senator Paul Kirk and others to evaluate the dangers of Yemeni shipments.

As the controversy continued Thursday, an unexpectedly calm and warm January day, sister ships Excelerate and Excellence were quietly pumping millions of cubic feet of LNG into an undersea pipeline, helping keep warm thousands of homes, schools, and offices in Greater Boston.

"We started deliveries about mid-December,'' said Rob Bryngelson, CEO of Excelerate Energy LLC. "Since then things have been going well. We've delivered on average about 20 percent of New England's gas needs into the market.'' Excelerate, based near Houston, finished what it calls the "Northeast Gateway" project in late

2008. It consists of two buoys with pipes feeding into a 16-mile pipeline that in turn feeds the Hubline natural gas pipeline that extends from Danversport to Weymouth. After four years working to get Northeast Gateway built, Thursday was the first time Bryngelson was on board a ship at the site.
A quick primer on LNG: It is the same natural gas that fuels stoves and heating systems and hot-water heaters, but chilled to negative-259 degrees Fahrenheit. That shrinks the gas to 1/600th of its vapor volume, making it feasible to transport natural gas by ship to the U.S. from producing countries like Trinidad, Algeria, and Egypt.

Nothing about the Excelerate or its sister ships is small. It's a ship that's three football fields long, as wide as a football field, with its own helicopter landing pad, and carrying enough natural gas to heat 21,000 average New England homes for a year. It's a ship that costs $250 million, weighs 200 million pounds, and is powered by 36,000 horsepower worth of engines that drive the ship and warm liquid gas to vapor -- and can also produce electricity equivalent to the demand of 11,000 homes.

You don't walk on and off by a gangway. You get hoisted by crane, holding -- as you dangle seven stories over the ocean -- onto a grid of ropes in a contraption called a "Billy Pugh," named for the man who invented it for use on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms. But for all the ships' sprawling size, Bryngelson said, "We designed Northeast Gateway to be as environmentally friendly and have the minimum environmental footprint possible,'' through technologies that recover waste heat, function like a catalytic converter removing pollutants from exhaust, and virtually eliminate the need for using sea water in the vaporization process.

Boston already sees plenty of LNG tankers, sometimes two a week, headed to the 39-year-old Distrigas plant in Everett, Mass. Ever since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many officials have worried about terrorists targeting an LNG tanker in Boston Harbor. Those fears grew after news broke about the expected shipments from a new gas terminal in Yemen, which raised the specter of Al Qaeda operatives potentially stowing away on tankers or devising time-delayed attacks on ships once they got close to Boston. While scientists say an LNG tanker is highly unlikely to explode in a fireball if hit by a bomb or missle, much is unknown about how a large cloud of gas fed by slowly vaporizing LNG might ignite and what that could do to the densely packed waterfront neighborhoods of downtown Boston, Charlestown, East Boston, and Chelsea. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said officials want to be confident all measures are being taken to ensure Yemeni shipments are 100 percent safe.

Carol Churchill, a spokeswoman for Distrigas, said in a statement: "LNG is as safe if not safer to transport and store than most other liquid fuels. LNG tankers are among the sturdiest and most sophisticated on the seas today. The LNG cargoes from Yemen will be delivered on the same ships and by the same officers and crews that have called on the Everett terminal in the past. The only thing that will change is the point of origin, a new state-of-the-art facility in Yemen that is one of the most secure in the world. Distrigas has been in discussions with the U.S. Coast Guard concerning this new terminal for more than six months. And we continue to have discussions with them as well as other government officials and key stakeholders to ensure the safe and timely deliveries of these cargoes. Safety and security have always and will continue to be the primary focus of Distrigas. We have earned and maintained an excellent safety record since we began importing LNG into the Everett terminal in 1971. The security regime surrounding our LNG shipments into Everett is the most robust of any cargo imported into the U.S.''

While it stands by the safety of the Everett Terminal, Distrigas is also building its own offshore delivery terminal, about six miles north of the Excelerate site and 10 miles south of Gloucester. It's expecting the Neptune terminal to be ready for service by the middle of next month.

Even here at the Excelerate Northeast Gateway site, 13 miles away from Gloucester and 18 miles from Boston, Excelerate's senior vice president, Captain Mark K. Lane, stresses they are safety obsessed. He spent 28 years at sea before becoming the company's top official overseeing its crew of captains who operate Excelerate's eight ships that can hook up to facilities like Northeast Gateway.

"We do vet people that come on board. We look and actually restrict who comes on board and what comes on board. A certain percentage of people are searched,'' Lane said. He stresses that both on land and sea, since the first shipment of LNG was made in 1959 from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to England, it's been extraordinarily safe. "Out of the history of LNG, there's been in excess of 100,000 round trips or round voyages, over 100 billion tons of cargo carried, and over 100 million miles travelled without loss of any cargo and without any loss of life that's cargo-related.''

With offshore delivery proven, could Boston ever shut down the controversial Everett Distrigas plant? Bryngelson says, probably not. "I know there are some requirements for liquid trucking and other power plant supply of the gas from the LNG facility out of Everett, so I don't think you can completely displace it. But certainly, for incremental volumes, for what we're delivering, offshore is a viable alternative.''

Asked whether Excelerate might ever consider adding more buoys to expand the capacity of gas that could be pumped into Boston from offshore, Bryngelson said, "Right now, what we're constrained by is the amount of gas the system can absorb. And with the two buoys, we have more than adequate capacity.''

"Not a lot of people realize that we're out here, we're delivering gas consistently, and that's a good thing for us,'' Bryngelson said. "We're out of sight, we're out of mind for most people. We keep the operations well offshore and away from densely populated areas.'' An extraordinary operation few New Englanders will ever see -- but will feel in a cozy home or office on a chilly winter day.

Natural Gas Intelligence: Excelerate Energy Pursuing Floating Liquefaction Opportunities

2008-11-11T12:12:00.002-06:00

Excelerate Energy's niche in the natural gas supply chain puts it in good standing as it attempts to carve out a place in the emerging world of floating natural gas liquefaction, or floating LNG (FLNG), Anthony Schiller, Excelerate director of upstream development, told NGI.

"We think because of our downstream asset base with the regasification technology and our buyer network and our ability to access downstream markets, that Excelerate together with Black & Veatch and Exmar provides the capability to really advance a source-to-market solution," Schiller said. "I don't know that you'll see our gas end up in all of our assets. But...we're taking on the molecule. We're taking ownership of the gas. As part of that certainly what we think differentiates us from other people who are advocating for floating liquefaction is that we do indeed have a solid history of creating proven floating solutions. As part of that there is the downstream network and a group of buyers out there."

Earlier this month Excelerate announced the formalization of its relationship with LNG shipping partner Exmar NV and with Black & Veatch, a provider of gas processing and liquefaction technology.

Excelerate has constructed two offshore LNG receiving terminals in U.S. waters. Its Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge Deepwater Port, located offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico, received its first LNG cargo in April 2005 (see Daily GPI, April 7, 2005). It was the world's first offshore receiving facility and the first new LNG regasification facility in North America in more than 20 years. In May Excelerate's Northeast Gateway terminal off the coast of Massachusetts received its first LNG cargo (see Daily GPI, May 20). Excelerate also owns and manages the Teesside GasPort LNG facility in the United Kingdom. In June RWE Group completed the acquisition of a 50% stake in Excelerate (see Daily GPI, June 3).

For FLNG, Excelerate is looking at a modular design for its facilities that will allow for vessels capable of liquefying anywhere from 1.5 to four million metric tons per year; however, the sweet spot is about three million tons, Schiller said. "We've had prospective customers who have expressed interest in solutions for up to four million, but because we're building it on a series of liquefaction trains there is that inherent flexibility in the design.

"We don't want to do the one-ship-build-many concept. But on the other end of it you don't want to build a ship that's so tailored that you have to wait until you've identified a specific opportunity before you can go out there...We think the three million tons probably puts us in the position to commercialize most of the reserves we're looking at."

Schiller said geographically Excelerate is looking at opportunities around the globe, similar to other FLNG players. He named Australia, West Africa, South America and Southeast Asia as prospects. "There are certainly areas that I'm hyper-focused on, but it's all the same as everybody else," he said. "We're looking at everything. What we're saying internally at this point is nothing is off the table."

Excelerate said FLNG can be competitive on a cost basis with land-based liquefaction facilities of similar size. The company is not alone in pursuing FLNG. Royal Dutch Shell is pursuing FLNG, among others.

In September Kathleen Eisbrenner, executive vice president for global LNG with Shell Gas & Power International, told NGI that FLNG would be cost-competitive with land-based liquefaction (see Daily GPI, Sept. 9). Eisbrenner was Excelerate's chief executive before she joined Shell.

At a conference in Bangkok in March, Jon Chadwick, Shell Gas and Power executive vice president, said the company had adopted a "generic approach" to its technology, "design-one-build many" approach. "Key dimensions are a 3.5 million tons per annum LNG facility, with additional hydrocarbon liquids capacity, 450 meters long by 75 meters wide..."

Shell is expected to have a floating LNG terminal operating off the coast of Dubai by the end of 2010, according to Shell's John Mills, regional vice president for gas and power, as reported by Bloomberg. Shell is considering FLNG facilities off the coasts of Egypt, Iraq and Australia. Another company, Flex LNG Ltd., is expected to have a 1.7 million-metric-ton facility operating off the coast of Nigeria in 2011, according to Bloomberg.

©Copyright Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.

Excelerate Discusses Floating Liquefaction Plans

2008-11-07T16:02:00.001-06:00

November 7, 2008
Platts LNG Daily
Ron Nissimov

Houston--Excelerate Energy and its partners in a proposed floating liquefaction venture would build floating liquefaction vessels only if agreements have been reached to monetize specific gas reserves with those vessels, an Excelerate official told Platts Friday.

"This is not going to be like regas, where we speculatively built vessels," said Excelerate Director of Upstream Development Anthony Schiller. "We will identify an opportunity and engage in a study to identify the value for the particular reserve or owner."

The venture plans to own the LNG and market it, but it does not plan to seek ownership of gas reserves and develop them, Schiller said. Rather, it plans to buy gas from producers for liquefaction, he said. The supplies would not necessarily have to be delivered by Excelerate's onboard regasification vessels or delivered to the company's terminals, he said.

Excelerate announced earlier this week that it formed an alliance with Belgian shipper Exmar and US engineering firm Black and Veatch to develop floating liquefaction solutions, but it did not provide details.

The venture plans to use a modular system that would allow it to successfully monetize reserves of various sizes, with possible production ranging from 1.5 million mt/yr (192,000 Mcf/d) to 4 million mt/yr, Schiller said. He declined to comment on cost projections for vessels or liquefaction, but said the unit cost would be comparable to onshore liquefaction plants with similar sizes. Larger onshore liquefaction projects would likely be able to produce LNG more cheaply because of economies of scale, he said.

Although floating liquefaction projects have been discussed for a number of years, until relatively recently they were viewed as uneconomical. But technological advances have made it possible to liquefy gas using vessels at prices comparable to onshore plants, which often require large investments for pipelines to the liquefaction facilities.

Some other companies are further advanced in their floating liquefaction plans. For example, Flex LNG has contracted with South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries to build its fourth floating LNG production vessels, each with capacity of 1.7 million mt/yr, and plans to open the world's first floating liquefaction plant in 2011 offshore Nigeria. The total cost of the vessel for that project, which is slated to produce 1.5 million mt/yr for 15 years, is at least $1 billion. Japan's Mitsubishi, an equity partner in the project, would buy the entire output.

Nevertheless, the Excelerate venture is confident it could compete in the growing floating liquefaction sector because of its track record in floating LNG storage and regasification, as well as its access to markets worldwide, Schiller said.

"A lot of things make Excelerate different," he said. "We've got a pretty substantial downstream asset base. We're not simply a technology provider, as Flex LNG might be. We're trying to advance the capacity we have to market (LNG), to the extent we can take ownership of the molecules and maximize the value of the reserve owner's gas."

Black and Veatch would not have equity in the vessels, but only provide its proprietary liquefaction technology that has been used for onshore facilities, Schiller said.

He said it is too soon to comment on possible timelines or on whether Exmar would have equity in the vessels. Exmar has significant equity in the fleet of onboard regasification vessels that Excelerate operates.

Excelerate was the first company to build and operate onboard regasification vessels. It opened its first terminal offshore Louisiana in March 2005 and in December 2006 opened a terminal in Teesside, England. But because of the company's inability to secure long-term LNG contracts in the ongoing tight liquefaction market, many industry experts said last year the company was in deep financial trouble.

Excelerate's technology was originally developed by El Paso, but Oklahoma businessman George Kaiser bought the rights to the technology and formed the company with some former El Paso employees.

Earlier this year, Germany's RWE bought 50% of Excelerate for $500 million. The infusion of cash from RWE and increasing demand for onboard regasification vessels have seemingly benefited the company. This year, Excelerate was hired by Argentina to provide an onboard regasification vessel and deliver supplies during the South American country's dry season, and next year Excelerate will start providing an onboard regasification vessel to Kuwait. It is unclear if Argentina plans to hire Excelerate next year, as officials have said they hope to not import LNG then because it is much more expensive than pipeline gas. Schiller said he could not comment on the matter.

In addition, increasing diversions of Atlantic Basin LNG supplies to Asia has provided Excelerate with more opportunities to charter its vessels. RWE owns gas assets offshore Egypt, but Schiller said those would not be used for floating liquefaction projects. He said the areas Excelerate is exploring for floating liquefaction are the same as the areas being explored by other companies. Those areas include offshore West Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia, he said.

Excelerate to Take Production Plunge

2008-11-07T12:18:00.002-06:00

November 7, 2008
LNG Unlimited
Lucy Hine, London

Regas company unveils plans to build a floating LNG contender

Regasification specialist Excelerate Energy is running its slide rule over large-size floating liquefaction units as it plots a move into the upstream arena.

The company signed an agreement on Wednesday with its longstanding shipping ally Exmar and gas processing specialist Black & Veatch to pursue floating LNG.

The partners are targeting units with capacities ranging from the 1.5 million tonnes per annum to 3 million tpa.

Excelerate president and chief executive Rob Bryngelson said even a 4 million tpa vessel is "not out of range" for the partners, revealing the company has received expressions of interest for this size.

Bryngelson said the partners have already got a basic design for what they are calling a floating liquefaction storage and
offloading (FLSO) unit.

He said the design packages together proven technology but is also being developed in modular fashion to suit any given gas field.

Bryngelson said he and his colleagues at Excelerate have been working on floating liquefaction since around 2001 when they were with El Paso Corporation.

He said Excelerate, which is backed by its two key shareholders RWE Group and oil tycoon George Kaiser, will be the driving force behind the FLSO partnership and will retain commercial control.

The company has brought in Anthony Schiller as upstream development director. He joins from oil and gas magnate Tom Tatham’s LNG Partners, which is developing the Newfoundland LNG project.

Bryngelson said there are "a lot of discussions going on" with prospective clients, adding: "We are talking to people where the gas reserve makes sense."

He is adamant an FLSO will not be built on speculation. However, he said: "The first one will set the benchmark for how we are going to do it."

Bryngelson is also certain the FLSO will be more cost competitive than a like-size onshore liquefaction plant.

He said it will take around four years from pulling the trigger on a project to LNG production.

Exmar chief executive Nicolas Saverys said 2012 remains a realistic date for the first FLSO to be in operation.

Saverys said the partners' existing expertise on issues such as sloshing, product processing and discharge via ship-to-ship transfer will be key to the FLSO projects.

Bryngelson is clear about the motives for the move into the offshore liquefaction sector.

"We are not trying to be an asset player. We want to integrate further up the chain and gain access to the molecules," he said.

Excelerate Energy Announces Successful Delivery of First LNG Cargo to South America's First-Ever LNG Import Facility

2008-06-09T13:28:00.001-05:00

Excelerate Energy Announces Successful Delivery of First LNG Cargo to South America's First-Ever LNG Import Facility
Argentina's GasPort is the world’s second dockside regasification facility

THE WOODLANDS, TX and BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, June 9, 2008 - Excelerate Energy L.L.C. today announced the successful delivery of Argentina's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo to the newly constructed importation facility at the port city of Bahía Blanca, approximately 400 miles south of Buenos Aires. Vaporized natural gas was successfully delivered through the Bahía Blanca GasPort directly into Argentina's gas distribution system.

The Bahía Blanca GasPort LNG facility is South America's first-ever LNG receiving facility and the world's second dockside regasification facility.

At the Bahía Blanca GasPort, the company's LNG Regasification Vessel Excelsior is docked alongside a dedicated jetty where it connects to the onshore natural gas pipeline via Excelerate's specially designed dockside high-pressure gas off-loading arm, and feeds natural gas directly into Argentina's gas distribution system. LNG cargoes will be supplied to the docked vessel via traditional LNG carriers utilizing Excelerate's ship-to-ship LNG transfer protocol.

"We at Excelerate Energy are pleased that our unique onboard regasification and GasPort technology have played a pivotal role in the successful completion of this historic project," said Rob Bryngelson, President and CEO of Excelerate Energy. "We have forged a strong partnership with YPF S.A. and congratulate them on their efforts to ensure Argentina’s future energy security."
In August of 2007, YPF S.A. selected the Bahía Blanca location as ideal to quickly allow for additional imports needed to bring more natural gas to the Argentina market to meet projected supply shortfalls.

It has taken less than six months to construct the Bahia Blanca GasPort and commence operations. Excelerate Energy is currently the only LNG company in the world using GasPort technology. The company's first GasPort at Teesside in the UK was commissioned in Feb. 2007. Designed to accommodate the proprietary technology of the company's specialized regasification vessel fleet, these GasPort facilities allow for much lower capital costs and a greatly expedited development and construction timeline - much shorter than that of an onshore LNG facility.

The jointly-developed Bahía Blanca GasPort, Excelerate's fourth operational LNG facility and second dockside GasPort, will allow delivery of up to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Argentina's market. The facility has the initial capacity to import up to three LNG cargoes per month, each of which will contain approximately three billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The commissioning cargo for the Bahia Blanca GasPort was sold to Repsol/YPF by Excelerate Energy and loaded onto the Excelsior by Ship-To-Ship (STS) transfer on May 4th. This cargo was delivered from another of Excelerate's regasification vessels the Excellence, marking the fifth transfer of LNG between two ships for commercial purposes. Excelerate has been the pioneer in STS transfer and continues to use this process to provide additional flexibility for scheduling and fleet utilization.

Excelerate Energy's specialized vessels have three distinct ways of discharging LNG cargo. The cargo can be discharged as liquid at a traditional LNG regasification terminal, as gas via Excelerate's Energy Bridge subsea buoy based system for offshore applications and via the onboard high pressure gas manifold that connects to Excelerate's dockside off-loading arm.

Excelerate Energy Finalizes Partnership with RWE

2008-06-02T11:13:00.003-05:00

Excelerate Energy Finalizes Partnership with RWE
German utility completes acquisition of stake in Excelerate

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS, June 2, 2008 - Excelerate Energy today announced that the RWE Group has completed the acquisition of a 50-percent stake in the company for approximately $500 million. RWE is a major European integrated electricity and natural gas company, and the acquisition combines RWE's upstream equity gas assets with Excelerate's growing market access points, LNG infrastructure and proprietary technology.

Excelerate Energy, owned by George B. Kaiser, was formed in 2003 to utilize proprietary technology allowing LNG to be regasified onboard specially designed regasification vessels. Based on this technology and in the five short years since its inception, the company has built three LNG receiving facilities, including the first on the US East coast in 25 years; pioneered commercial ship-to-ship transfer of LNG; and operates a fleet of five LNG ships of which four are capable of onboard regasification. The company will add an additional three LNG regasification vessels to the fleet by 2010 and has an option on a ninth ship. Excelerate Energy's management and staff will remain in place as the company will continue to develop and operate its business as usual, with strong support from its shareholders. Mr. Kaiser will continue to own the remaining 50 percent of the company.

About Excelerate Energy
Excelerate Energy, L.L.C., 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, LNG Regasification Vessels (LNGRVs) compliment the company's downstream investments in dockside GasPorts and deepwater port Gateways. To further enhance the capabilities of the existing LNGRVs 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.

About RWE Supply & Trading GmbH
RWE Supply & Trading GmbH results from the merger of the two companies RWE Trading GmbH and RWE Gas Midstream GmbH. RWE Supply & Trading is the market leader in Europe for energy trading and ranks number 6 in the European gas business (procurement volume around 40 bcm per annum). RWE Supply & Trading is in charge of managing all of RWE's international energy procurement activities and wholesale energy trading. It serves as the European hub for all tradeable commodities such as power, emissions certificates, gas, coal and oil (physical and derivatives) as well as optimizing the entire gas portfolio of the RWE Group, from short- to long-term procurement and delivery responsibilities. RWE Supply & Trading has its headquarters in Essen (Germany) and offices in Swindon (UK), London (UK) and Prague (CZ). The company's CEO is Peter Terium.

Media contacts
Bronwyn Wallace
Hill & Knowlton (for Excelerate Energy)
713.752.1929
bronwyn.wallace@hillandknowlton.com

Excelerate Energy delivers first LNG cargo to Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port

2008-05-20T10:03:00.003-05:00

Excelerate Energy delivers first LNG cargo to Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port
(First new East Coast LNG facility in more than 30 years)

IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY - With the arrival of the vessel Excellence at the new Northeast Gateway (NEG) Deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) Port, Houston-based Excelerate Energy L.L.C. announced today that the NEG facility has commenced commercial operations. Operating approximately 18 miles east of Boston in Massachusetts Bay, Excellence is currently off-loading its cargo of natural gas into the existing HubLine natural gas pipeline system operated by Spectra Energy, also headquartered in Houston.

"This delivery is a milestone in efforts to bring a new, safe, clean, affordable energy source to the New England region in record time," said Rob Bryngelson, Excelerate Energy CEO. "During the course of this project it became extremely clear that our ship-board regasification technology is the quickest, least expensive and most environmentally responsible way to bring new natural gas supplies to markets."

Excelerate Energy and Spectra Energy teamed up to extend a 16-mile, 24-inch pipeline lateral from Spectra Energy's HubLine to the Deepwater Port. Regional energy studies show that New England’s demand for natural gas will increase considerably in coming years, and call for new supplies to ensure price and supply stability.

"The Northeast Gateway project brings an important new natural gas supply to the heart of the New England market area," said Bill Yardley, group vice president, Spectra Energy Transmission. "Spectra Energy looks forward to its continuing partnership with Excelerate to provide greater supply diversity and reliability to the region. We also extend our joint appreciation to state and federal agencies for the thorough review and timely approvals of this project."

Since introducing the concept of the NEG project in the summer of 2004, Excelerate Energy began the permitting process in June 2005 and received its license for the facility in May 2007. Construction began immediately upon receipt of the license and was completed in December 2007. The completion and commissioning of NEG marks the first new LNG receiving facility to be built on the U.S. east coast in more than 30 years.

The regasification system developed by Excelerate Energy allows its purpose-built vessels, referred to as Regasification Vessels, to regasify its cargo of LNG using existing technology in a new application and deliver vaporous natural gas through one of two turret loading buoys located approximately 90 feet below the water surface. The vessel draws one of the buoys into a specially designed compartment and connects it to the onboard regasification equipment. The buoys not only act as a conduit for the gas delivery, but also act as a mooring for the vessels, eliminating the need to anchor the ships at the Deepwater Port. This robust system, designed and tested with crude oil in the North Sea, has been used in the US Gulf of Mexico by Excelerate Energy – even providing natural gas supplies throughout Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

With its inaugural delivery, Excellence will offload about one billion cubic feet of gas in order to test all of the port and pipeline systems. The delivery follows preliminary commissioning activities conducted in February, 2008. Ultimately, the system is capable of supplying up to approximately 20 percent of New England’s natural gas demand.

In addition to their ability to regasify LNG through its on board system, Excelerate Energy's vessels also retain their conventional LNG discharge capability, enabling the vessels to offload at standard land-based LNG terminals as well as into Excelerate Energy's proprietary receipt points around the world. Additionally, Excelerate Energy pioneered LNG transshipment via ship-to-ship transfer, further increasing the flexibility of its operations. These ships are by far the cleanest LNG tankers in the world due to the use of state-of-the-art technology that reduce both air and water emissions to nominal levels. While operating at NEG, the vessels are able to reduce their NOx emissions by nearly 90 percent and their water consumption and discharge by nearly 98 percent, a phenomenal accomplishment.

Aside from the Northeast Gateway Deepwater LNG Port, Excelerate also operates the Gulf Gateway Deepwater Port in the Gulf of Mexico about 116 miles south of Louisiana. The company has also pioneered GasPort technology comprising dockside LNG regasification facilities. The company’s first GasPort at Teesside in the United Kingdom was commissioned in February 2007. Excelerate also is developing similar facilities in South America and the Middle East.

As part of the federal environmental review process, certain mitigation measures were recommended by the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale from potential impacts caused by the construction and operation of the NEG facility. Excelerate Energy endorsed these recommendations and entered into a partnership with the Cornell University Bioacoustic Research Program (Cornell) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to develop a system of auto-detection buoys (ABs) equipped with passive acoustic hydrophones with sensors specially tuned to pick up the characteristic vocalizations of right whales, as well as other marine mammals. Advanced software developed by the Cornell team translates the whale calls into automated alerts that can be relayed through the web and maritime radio networks. Ten of these ABs have been installed along a nearly 50-mile segment of the recently re-aligned Boston Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) leading to the Northeast Gateway Port.

Excelerate Energy also has established operational procedures to further reduce the risk of striking whales while approaching Northeast Gateway.

"Excelerate takes its responsibility to environmental stewardship very seriously," said Jonathan Cook, Excelerate’s COO. "We have adopted operational procedures such as reducing the vessels' speed and posting additional lookouts who have received special training in marine mammal identification."

Excelerate Energy Announces Agreement to Develop Argentina's First-Ever LNG Import Facility

2008-05-19T13:23:00.001-05:00

Excelerate Energy Announces Agreement To Develop Argentina’s First-Ever LNG Import Facility
New Facility to Leverage Unique GasPort Technology

THE WOODLANDS, TX and BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, May 19, 2008 – Excelerate Energy L.L.C. today announced the signing of definitive agreements with Argentina's YPF S.A. to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) importation facility at the port city of Bahía Blanca, approximately 400 miles south of Buenos Aires. Upon completion this month, the facility will mark South America's first-ever LNG receiving facility and the world’s second dockside regasification facility.

"This facility marks yet another milestone for Excelerate Energy and further demonstrates how the unique ability of our onboard regasification and GasPort technology can quickly and cost-effectively deliver LNG supplies and connect markets globally," said Rob Bryngelson, President and CEO of Excelerate Energy.
"We are pleased to partner with YPF S.A. and applaud their forward-thinking in leveraging our advanced technology to help secure Argentina's future energy needs."

In August of 2007, YPF S.A. selected the Bahía Blanca location as ideal to quickly allow for additional imports needed to bring more natural gas to the Argentina market to meet projected supply shortfalls. The first cargo is expected to arrive in the newly built GasPort by the end of May 2008.

The jointly-developed Bahía Blanca GasPort, Excelerate's fourth operational LNG facility and second dockside GasPort, will allow delivery of up to 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to Argentina's market. The facility was built with the initial capacity to import up to three LNG cargoes per month, each of which contains approximately three billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Excelerate Energy is currently the only LNG company in the world using GasPort technology. The company's first GasPort at Teesside in the UK was commissioned in Feb. 2007. These facilities are designed to accommodate the proprietary technology of the company's specialized Energy Bridge vessel fleet. At the Bahía Blanca GasPort, the company's Energy Bridge vessel Excelsior will dock alongside a dedicated jetty where it will connect to the onshore facility, and feed natural gas directly into Argentina's gas distribution system. LNG cargoes will be supplied to the docked vessel via traditional LNG carriers utilizing ship-to-ship transfer procedures.

The commissioning cargo for the Bahia Blanca GasPort was sold to Repsol/YPF by Excelerate Energy and loaded onto the Excelsior by Ship-To-Ship (STS) transfer on May 4th. This cargo was delivered from another of Excelerate's regasification vessels the Excellence, marking the fifth transfer of LNG between two ships for commercial purposes. Excelerate has been the pioneer in STS transfer and continues to use this process to provide additional flexibility for scheduling and fleet utilization.

"One major advantage of GasPort facilities is that our capital costs are much lower and our development and construction timeline is much shorter than that of an onshore LNG facility, which enable us to very quickly and competitively add to our growing network of market access points around the world," noted Bryngelson.

Excelerate Energy's specialized vessels are equipped with both an onboard regasification system and a normal LNG discharge capability, enabling the vessels to offload at conventional LNG terminals, their own facilities and from ship to ship. Excelerate Energy pioneered LNG transshipment via ship-to-ship transfer.

Excelerate Energy Takes Delivery of Next-Generation LNG Vessel

2008-04-09T14:48:00.004-05:00

Excelerate Energy Takes Delivery of Next-Generation LNG Vessel
The Explorer to showcase advanced shipping technology

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS, April 09, 2008 - Excelerate Energy L.L.C. today announced it has taken delivery of the advanced technology LNG Regasification Vessel (LNGRV) Explorer under a 25-year time charter. The Explorer is the first of Excelerate Energy's second-generation LNGRVs, which combine advanced environmental technologies with the company's proprietary regasification system. This combination allows LNG to be revaporized onboard the ship and fed directly into natural gas pipelines in a manner that minimizes environmental impacts and facility costs.

"We are excited to welcome the Explorer to the Excelerate fleet" said Rob Bryngelson, Excelerate Energy President and CEO. "Expanding the fleet is critical as we look to serve our growing network of market access points and trading operations around the world. We are also pleased to be the first to incorporate new technologies on our vessels that will help minimize our environmental footprint through reduced air emissions and water usage."

The Explorer was ordered in 2005 and was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (DSME) of South Korea. Excelerate Energy and Exmar NV of Belgium own the vessel through a joint venture company where each company holds a 50 percent equity interest. Exmar ShipManagement NV of Belgium will be the technical managers of the ship.

The vessel has several unique features that set it apart from the rest of the operating LNG fleet, including emissions control equipment that reduce NOx emissions by more than 95 percent during regas operations, and a heat recovery system that nearly eliminates the use of seawater in the LNG vaporization process. The ship has cargo capacity of 150,900 cubic meters, is 291 meters in length and has a deadweight tonnage of 82,500 metric tonnes.

The addition of the EXPLORER brings Excelerate's fleet count to four LNGRVs and one conventional LNG carrier in service; an additional vessel is under construction and slated for delivery in Spring 2009. In addition, the agreement between Exmar and Excelerate Energy includes two more ships ordered by Exmar in 2006 plus another ship ordered in 2007. These three ships will be delivered between the third quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010 and be named EXQUISITE, EXEMPLAR, and EXPEDIENT.

"We are very impressed with the new vessel. DSME has shown their passion toward innovation during its design and construction, and we look forward to Exmar's professionalism and attention to detail in the operation of the ship," added Bryngelson.

Excelerate Energy will employ the vessel under a 25-year time charter to serve its proprietary market access points as well as its global trading operations. To date, Excelerate Energy has established receiving facilities at Northeast Gateway off the shores of Boston, Massachusetts, Gulf Gateway in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and Teesside GasPort in northern England, with additional projects under construction and development around the world. Its diverse and innovative technology allow Excelerate to offer customized solutions for bringing LNG to markets in a timely and cost efficient manner.

Excelerate Energy to Form Partnership with RWE

2008-02-14T10:09:00.003-06:00

14 February 2008

Excelerate Energy to Form Partnership with RWE
German utility to acquire 50-percent stake in leading LNG innovator

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS, Feb. 14, 2008 – Excelerate Energy L.L.C. today announced that the RWE Group has signed an agreement to acquire a 50-percent stake in the company for approximately $500 million. RWE is a major European integrated electricity and natural gas company, and the partnership will combine RWE's upstream equity gas assets with Excelerate’s growing market access points, LNG infrastructure and proprietary technology.

"Together, we believe we can grow the LNG business significantly over the coming years," said Rob Bryngelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Excelerate Energy. "This partnership aligns both companies' strengths in a way that will support the growth of the business, enable us to more fully leverage the flexibility our technology provides along the LNG value chain and to maintain our innovative leadership in offshore LNG."

Excelerate Energy, owned by George B. Kaiser, was formed in 2003 to utilize proprietary technology allowing LNG to be regasfied onboard specially designed regasification vessels. Based on this technology and in the five short years since its inception, the company has built three LNG receiving facilities, including the first on the US East coast in 25 years; pioneered commercial ship-to-ship transfer of LNG; and has options to expand its portfolio of regasification vessels to eight.

RWE AG is the listed holding company of the RWE Group, which operations are focused on Germany, the United Kingdom and Central Eastern Europe. The company's activities include power generation, distribution, transmission and sales, and natural gas exploration, production and sales. RWE Gas Midstream, the non-regulated gas wholesale, transport and storage subsidiary, will cooperate with Excelerate on an operational level.

Dr. Juergen Grossmann, CEO of RWE AG: "Linking Excelerate's business with RWE’s gas activities provides a platform for strong growth in the gas market. We are active both in the pipeline and the LNG business. Our partnership is of strategic importance." RWE and Excelerate have been co-operating on a number of joint projects since 2006.

Mr. Kaiser will continue to own the remaining 50 percent of the company. Excelerate Energy's management and staff will remain in place, as the company will continue to develop and operate its business as usual, with strong support from its shareholders.

About Excelerate Energy
Excelerate Energy, L.L.C., 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, LNG Regasification Vessels (LNGRVs) compliment the company's downstream investments in dockside GasPorts and deepwater port Gateways. To further enhance the capabilities of the existing LNGRVs 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

About RWE Gas Midstream
With RWE Gas Midstream GmbH, which was founded on 1 January 2007, RWE has further improved its competitive position on the European gas market. RWE Gas Midstream is responsible for the economic optimisation of the entire, non-regulated gas business of the RWE Group with respect to procurement, transport and storage. To fulfil its remit, the company is intensifying existing business contacts to pipeline and LNG providers and is developing new procurement options taking into full account the strong growth of the gas exploration and production business of RWE Dea. The establishment of RWE Gas Midstream strengthens the entire RWE gas portfolio. RWE Trading remains responsible for the gas trading activities and for their further development. RWE has already announced that RWE Gas Midstream and RWE Trading will merge.

Media contacts
Bronwyn Wallace
Hill & Knowlton (for Excelerate Energy)
713.752.1929
bronwyn.wallace@hillandknowlton.com

EXCELERATE ENERGY SELECTS DB ENERGY TRADING AS ITS NORTH AMERICAN DOWNSTREAM ASSET MANAGER

2008-01-16T10:49:00.001-06:00

HOUSTON, January 16, 2008 - Excelerate Energy today announced it has entered into a revaporized LNG off-take purchase arrangement with DB Energy Trading LLC, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. The agreement entitles DB Energy Trading to sell Excelerate Energy's revaporized LNG delivered via Excelerate's specially designed Energy Bridge System at the Gulf Gateway Deepwater Port (Gulf Gateway) and the Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port (Northeast Gateway) for an undisclosed tenor. The Energy Bridge vessels vaporize LNG on board and deliver natural gas through specially designed subsea buoys to seabed pipelines and into the natural gas grid.

Gulf Gateway is located off the coast of Louisiana and is capable of delivering natural gas at a baseload rate of 500 MMcf/d, with peak rates of up to 690 MMcf/d. Its robust design, which was tested and proven with deliveries throughout Hurricane Katrina, provides reliable and ready access to United States markets on both a short- and long-term basis. Northeast Gateway, located off the coast of Massachusetts, recently completed construction and will take its first cargo deliveries in early 2008. Its physical infrastructure will accommodate peak sendout of up to 800 MMcf/d and a baseload rate over 400 MMcf/d. Both Gateways will have the ability to increase throughput as future generations of Energy Bridge vessels with increased regasification capacity are delivered.

"We are pleased to be working with DB Energy on the downstream marketing of our natural gas deliveries through Gulf Gateway and Northeast Gateway," said Jonathan Cook, Chief Operating Officer at Excelerate Energy. "DB Trading has the experience and expertise that will ensure efficient and effective deliveries of our cargoes."

"We are proud to partner with Excelerate for our first LNG off-take management agreement in the United States, and pleased to facilitate Excelerate supply to our growing customer base in the Northeast and Gulf Coast regions," said Nicole Jasper, Americas Head of Commodity Sales at Deutsche Bank in Houston. "Our participation in the physical commodities markets marks our global commitment to providing Deutsche Bank clients the full spectrum of products."

For further information please call:

Renee Calabro +1-212-250-5525
Deutsche Bank, Media Relations

Judy Goldberg +1-713-752-1931/ judy.goldberg@hillandknowlton.com
Hill & Knowlton (for Excelerate Energy)

Construction has been completed on Excelerate Energy's Northeast Gateway

2008-01-14T17:22:00.000-06:00

14 January 2007
Natural Gas Intelligence
(Industry Briefs)

Construction has been completed on Excelerate Energy's Northeast Gateway deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) port off the coast of Massachusetts and the company is awaiting its final operating permits from the U.S. Coast Guard. Excelerate Energy expects to "realistically" have all of its operating permits by mid-January, said Edward Scott, vice president of development. He declined to say when LNG shipments would be off-loaded at the facility, explaining that the Houston-based company was in the "middle of fairly sensitive negotiations" with respect to LNG cargo. The Northeast Gateway facility, located 18 miles east of Boston, was completed in December, becoming the first new LNG terminal built on the East Coast in three decades. With peak deliveries of up to 800 MMcf/d, Northeast Gateway will be able to deliver about 500 MMcf/d into the New England market during normal operations, or approximately 20% of that market's current annual consumption. The deepwater port will be operated by Skaugen Offshore and will accommodate Excelerate's proprietary Energy Bridge Regasification Vessel fleet. In early December Algonquin Gas Transmission LLC got the green light to begin operating a 16-mile pipeline lateral connecting the company's New England-area natural gas system to the Northeast Gateway LNG port (see NGI, Dec. 10, 2007). Vaporized gas will flow from the terminal through Algonquin's HubLine pipe facilities in Massachusetts Bay to the Northeast gas market. The pipe facilities have the capacity to deliver up to 800,000 Dth/d of incremental supply.

Jan 21 Import Slot At UK's Isle Of Grain LNG Terminal Free

2008-01-14T17:16:00.000-06:00

14 January 2008
Dow Jones News Service
LONDON (Dow Jones)--The Jan. 21 berthing slot at the U.K.'s Isle of Grain liquefied natural gas import terminal won't be used by capacity holders and has been offered to the wider market, LNG Grain Agency's Web site said Monday.

This is the second successive berthing slot to be released by capacity holders BP PLC (BP) and Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach. The Jan. 15 slot was released last week. A U.K.-based gas trader said the cargo was diverted to Turkey, whose gas supplies from Iran were cut off.

The Isle of Grain terminal, operated by National Grid PLC (NGG), is able to import 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas a year.

Gaz de France signs partnership deal with Qatar

2008-01-14T17:15:00.000-06:00

14 January 2008
Reuters News

PARIS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Gaz de France on Monday said it has signed a long-term partnership agreement with Qatar Petroleum International and the country's authorities.

"This memorandum of understanding plans the development of cooperation between the two groups at an international level, in particular in the areas of exploration-production, liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas storage and downstream activities," Gaz de France said in a statement.

State-owned Gaz de France said the agreement would help it enhance its presence in Qatar, the world's top exporter of LNG.

Gaz de France also said it had been pre-selected by Qatar Petroleum to take part in an upcoming tender for the allocation of new offshore licences in Qatar.

The agreement coincides with a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which has yielded numerous deals and agreements for French companies such as EDF and Areva . (Reporting by Marie Maitre; Editing by Quentin Bryar)

Further Zeebrugge LNG Terminal Expansion Faces Delays

2008-01-14T17:14:00.000-06:00

14 January 2008
Global Insight Daily Analysis
Zoe Grainge

The further expansion of the LNG terminal at Zeebrugge in Belgium, due online early this year, is not yet ready for commissioning, European Spot Gas Markets reported. According to reports, a spokeswoman for grid operator Fluxys reiterated the new capacity would be commissioned in the “near future”, as was announced in mid-December. Long-term contracts are already in place with Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil (55 slots), Distrigas (33 slots), and—entering into the terminal’s capacity for the first time—Suez LNG Trading (22 slots). The expansion is set to double capacity at the terminal from 4.5 bcm/year to 9.0 bcm/year. At present, Belgium's Distrigas and France's EDF Trading have signed deals with Rasgas to bring cargoes into the terminal. Data from Lloyd’s Maritime Intelligence show Distrigas is receiving regular fortnightly cargoes, but that EDF Trading has used fewer of its slots.

A new Internet-based platform to trade secondary capacity at the Zeebrugge hub, including the expanded LNG terminal, the Zeebrugge Platform Service, is also still expected to come onstream “early this year”, the Fluxys spokeswoman said. Originally, the platform was scheduled for a 2007 start-up.Significance: Fluxys announced last October it was considering further expanding the LNG import terminal in Zeebrugge. The terminal is already in the middle of a project to double capacity to 9 bcm/year. The group planned to conduct a survey at end-2007 to assess interest in reserving any expanded capacity. A pre-feasibility study already showed that, in line with the strategic plan for the port of Zeebrugge, the LNG terminal's capacity could be increased even further after the current expansion. In the 20 years the LNG terminal has been receiving ships, natural gas consumption in Belgium has nearly doubled from 8 bcm/year to 17 bcm/year (see United Kingdom-Belgium: 8 October 2007: ).

Gas Terminal Gets Nearer to Approval

2008-01-12T16:24:00.000-06:00

12 January 2008
The New York Times

HARTFORD -- A liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for Long Island Sound moved a step closer to approval on Friday with a finding by the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it would have no major environmental impact on the region.

The impact statement included 86 recommendations for mitigating any harm caused by the proposal, known as the Broadwater LNG project, which would be situated nine miles from Long Island and 10 miles from the Connecticut shoreline, and would be linked to the Iroquois gas pipeline.

The findings now go before the commission's five members, who can either reject the project, approve it with the staff recommendations or set hearings before an administrative law judge.

The report drew immediate criticism from Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut, who called the conclusions ludicrous and said the state would challenge in court any approval of the terminal.

''An enormous and potentially flammable industrial facility floating in the middle of Long Island Sound would be as shockingly out of place as a steel plant in a state park,'' Mrs. Rell said.

Messages were left seeking comment from New York State officials.

John Hritcko Jr., the senior vice president of Broadwater Energy, said the company was pleased that ''this stage of the regulatory review'' was complete. He added that in the coming months, we ''look forward to the commissioners' decision on Broadwater's proposal.''

Broadwater officials say the terminal is needed to meet a growing demand for natural gas.

About half of the gas from the terminal would go to New York City, from 25 percent to 30 percent to Long Island and the rest to Connecticut.

Mass.: Coast Guard exceeds standards to safeguard tankers carrying liquefied natural gas

2008-01-11T16:48:00.000-06:00

11 January 2008
Associated Press Newswires
Mark Jewell

BOSTON (AP) - The Port of Boston exceeds federal standards to safeguard tankers carrying liquefied natural gas and crude oil, the port commander of the Coast Guard's Boston office said Thursday after congressional auditors reported vulnerabilities at some U.S. ports.

Capt. Gail Kulisch called a harborside news conference a day after a Government Accountability Office report indicated some ports the agency's auditors visited were hindered by a lack of resources to meet security duties including vessel escorts and boarding.

Tanker safety has become a major Boston area concern in part because of an LNG terminal at Everett in Boston Harbor. The terminal is one of five such facilities operating in the U.S., and the only one in a densely populated area.

Kulisch said the Coast Guard escorts every LNG tanker entering Boston Harbor, and conducts "numerous" harbor security patrols daily, with assistance from local law enforcement agencies. Tanker escorts include a Coast Guard craft on the water, as well as State Police helicopter crews who scan rooftops and docks for potential threats.

"In the Port of Boston, we exceed safety and security requirements, and we lead the nation as a model port for safety and security of LNG tankers," Kulisch said.

Stephen Caldwell, the GAO's head of maritime security, said Thursday that Kulisch's portrayal of the situation in Boston was "generally consistent with what the GAO found."

The report did not publicly identify ports where it found security problems.

Kulisch said authorities are "very well prepared" in case of a terrorist attack targeting a tanker in Boston Harbor, which handled 22 billion gallons of petroleum shipments including LNG and crude oil last year.

Authorities have plans to restore petroleum shipments and minimize disruption to businesses and residents after any attack, she said.

The GAO report to Congress said any attack at Everett during a cold winter could "result in natural gas shortages or price spikes," because of the terminal's importance as the Northeast's only LNG facility, and limited extra capacity for the region's pipelines during cold weather.

LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to minus 260 degrees, so that it becomes a liquid that can be transported in a tanker. Once brought ashore it is warmed so that it again becomes natural gas.

Various government studies have found that fire from a terrorism attack against a tanker carrying LNG could ignite so fiercely it would burn people one mile away.

The LNG safety issue also has generated controversy in Massachusetts because of proposed LNG terminals -- including a pair offshore from Gloucester, and one in Fall River -- to meet rising demand for natural gas. Nationwide, federal regulators have approved construction of at least 11 new facilities, and dozens more have been proposed.

Kulisch said the Coast Guard in Boston is prepared to take on the added responsibilities of ensuring safe tanker shipments off Gloucester when that site goes online. She declined to comment on the proposed terminal off Fall River, which falls outside the boundaries of her office's territory.

The Coast Guard's office for southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island has rejected plans for the Fall River terminal, saying tankers would not be able to safely navigate the river leading to the site. The company proposing the terminal has said it will continue to appeal.

LNG: N.Y. terminal plan poses minimal environmental risk -- FERC

2008-01-11T16:35:00.000-06:00

11 January 2008
Environment & Energy News (E&E news)
Katherine Ling

A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound poses minimal environmental and safety risks, federal regulators said in a final environmental impact statement released today.

The Broadwater Energy project would be built 9 nautical miles offshore and provide 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to New York City, Long Island and Connecticut. The floating terminal would be anchored to the seafloor and serviced by about 118 LNG carriers a year.

The Federal Environmental Regulatory Commission's report recommends 86 mitigation projects -- such as repairing disturbed seabeds -- that the company should undertake to reduce environmental impacts.

The project is aimed at boosting supplies of natural gas in the New York metropolitan area whose consumption has increased by 100 billion cubic feet over the past 10 years and is expected to grow even more as air quality standards are expected to become increasingly stringent and preclude the use of other energy sources, FERC said in a statement.

Environmentalists and some politicians oppose the project, calling it a target for terrorists and questioning its potential impact on aquatic life, commercial and recreational fishing. The plan calls for establishing a 2-mile zone around the terminal in which boaters would not be allowed.

FERC said the terminal's remote location makes attacks unlikely and also allows boaters to easily avoid it.

"The proposed project would result in fewer environmental impacts than any alternatives considered, and many alternatives could not meet the proposed purpose and need of the project," the FERC statement said.

FERC's report will be used by the Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies as they decide whether the project can proceed. The five-member FERC commission must also vote to authorize the project.

The New York Environmental Conservation Department told Broadwater last month the project had a "significant adverse impact" and gave it a "notice of incomplete application." Other state agencies are expected to decide on the project soon.

Connecticut Sens. Joe Lieberman (I) and Christopher Dodd (D) wrote a letter to FERC last May opposing the project. Lieberman added his disappointment with FERC's decision in a statement today. "I still do not believe a strong case has been made that this terminal could be made safe, environmentally sound, and nondisruptive without costly measures," he said.
Broadwater is hoping to open the terminal by late 2010.

Study doubts ports' security / With imports of volatile LNG likely to rise, GAO fears greater risks

2008-01-10T17:06:00.000-06:00

10 January 2008
Houston Chronicle
David Ivanovich

WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard lacks the resources to meet its own security standards to protect against terrorist assaults at American ports, even as the nation is to dramatically expand imports of liquefied natural gas, the Government Accountability Office has found.

The GAO, in a report made public Wednesday, noted that while U.S. intelligence officials know of no specific threat to American ports, captured terrorist training manuals have cited seaports as potential targets.

And terrorism trainees are instructed to try to obtain surveillance information on ports for use in a possible attack.

However, "despite considerable efforts to protect ports and the energy traffic in them, the level of protection is not where the Coast Guard believes it should be," the report said. "At some ports, Coast Guard units are not meeting their own levels of required security activities."

To date, the nation has experienced no terrorist attacks on tankers or loading facilities in U.S. waters.

In October 2002, terrorists rammed the French tanker Limburg in a suicide attack off the coast of Yemen, killing one crewman, injuring another 17 and causing a spill of about 90,000 barrels of oil.

Ports are inherently vulnerable, the report said, because they are often sprawling facilities, close to major urban centers like Houston, and with access by both land and sea.

Ships are likewise targets, since they travel along known routes, often through waters that do not allow room to maneuver away from potential threats, the report noted.

"We know that terrorists are looking for the weakest link in our security efforts, and this GAO report is a timely reminder that LNG and oil tankers are serious targets," said Rep. Edward Markey, D- Mass., whose district includes an LNG terminal.

At stake, experts say, is not just human life but the U.S. economy.

An attack on a tanker or terminal "could have "significant economic, environmental and public safety consequences, which would result in even higher gasoline and heating oil prices," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich.

Safety experts are concerned the terrorism risk will only increase as the U.S. imports more LNG, which the report notes has the potential to catch fire or even explode.

LNG currently accounts for about 3 percent of the nation's natural gas supply, with tiny Trinidad and Tobago accounting for about 70 percent of those shipments.

But the Energy Information Administration estimates LNG will account for 17 percent of the nation's gas supplies by 2015.
Five LNG terminals are currently operating in the United States, and federal regulators have approved construction of 11 onshore and two offshore terminals.

Projects under way

Among the projects already in the works is a facility in Freeport being built by a partnership backed by ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, Cheniere Energy and others. The facility is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

Others include Exxon Mobil Corp.'s 2 billion-cubic-foot pro- ject near Port Arthur, Cheniere's twin 2.6 billion-cubic-foot projects near Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, and Sempra Energy's 1.5 billion- cubic-foot project in Cameron, La.

Bill Cooper, executive director of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, a Washington-based trade group, noted that the Coast Guard is an integral part of the permitting process when regulators are evaluating proposals to build terminals.

The Coast Guard has to provide assurances that it can provide adequate security for a new facility, Cooper said. And if it cannot, "the project won't go forward."

The worldwide fleet of LNG carriers is expected to reach 400 by 2010, double the 200 in 2006, the report said.

Industry officials point out that the existing fleet of vessels has operated 33,000 voyages without suffering a major spill, the report said.

"LNG shipments have an excellent record for safety," noted Rep. Joe Barton of Ennis, ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, adding: "That's good, and it's also the minimum that we should expect."

Barton says the GAO report lends weight to the argument the U.S. should expand its own domestic energy production.

"Then we won't need to spend billions of taxpayer dollars turning the Coast Guard into a shallow-water navy to shield Middle Eastern fuel from Middle Eastern terrorists," Barton said.

Balancing needs

Among its recommendations, the GAO urged the Department of Homeland Security - which includes the Coast Guard - to develop a national plan to balance the need to meet its new LNG security burdens while also handling all of its existing security responsibilities.

Homeland Security officials, in response, said they concurred with that recommendation, although they noted: "LNG is just one of a number of certain dangerous cargoes that add risk to the maritime environment. ... We recognize the need to plan for new facilities pro- jected to come on line."

The GAO report was first issued in March 2007 but was not publicly released until Wednesday to allow officials to remove security-sensitive information.

Boston offshore LNG port nears clearance to open

2008-01-09T17:22:00.000-06:00

9 January 2008
Reuters
HOUSTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard expects to finish by the end of January preparations for start-up of Excelerate Energy's offshore liquefied natural gas terminal near Boston, a Coast Guard official said Wednesday.

The agency and company were in final negotiations for approval of a security plan and operations manual for the Northeast Gateway LNG terminal, Lt. John Kousch of the Coast Guard said.

"We're very close to coming to agreement," Kousch said. He predicted completion of talks by the end of January.
Construction of the $300 million terminal, twin submergible buoys located in Massachusetts Bay 13 miles south of Gloucester and connected to a pipeline to shore, was finished late last year.

Start-up of Northeast Gateway is key to German utility RWE AG (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) buying 50 percent of privately held Excelerate, a source close to the talks said.

Closure of the RWE-Excelerate deal was expected as early as February, but RWE has asked that Northeast Gateway be operational before the sale can close, the source said.

Excelerate has operated a similar offshore LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana since 2005.

Suez SA of France has announced plans to build a similar offshore LNG terminal off Boston, with construction starting this year and operations targeted for the end of 2009, Kousch said. (Reporting by Bruce Nichols; Editing by Walter Bagley)

Safety zones established around Northeast Gateway LNG

2008-01-08T17:29:00.000-06:00

8 January 2008
Energy Current

USA: The U.S. Coast Guard is establishing two temporary safety zones 1,640 feet (500 m) around two independent submerged turret loading buoys of Excelerate Energy's Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port in the Atlantic Ocean offshore Massachusetts and its accompanying systems. The temporary safety zones are being established to protect vessels and mariners from the potential safety hazards associated with deepwater port facilities. All vessels, with the exception of deepwater port support vessels, are prohibited from entering into or moving within either of the safety zones. The safety zones, which were announced in the Jan. 8 edition of the Federal Register, will be in place from Jan. 8 until May 7 of this year.

Work has been completed on the Northeast Gateway Energy Bridge liquefied natural gas (LNG) port and the facility will begin offloading tankers as soon as the U.S. Coast Guard issues an operations permit, the Gloucester Daily News reported. It is not yet known when the permit will be issued.

Northeast Gateway will be the first new LNG importation facility to serve the U.S. East Coast in more than 25 years. Excelerate Energy constructed the Northeast Gateway deepwater port 18 miles (29 km) east of Boston. Spectra Energy, formerly Duke Energy, will build the 16-mile (26 km) subsea pipeline from its existing HubLine, which traverses Massachusetts Bay from Beverly to Weymouth, Mass., to the deepwater port site to transfer natural gas from the vessels into New England's gas pipeline network.