Höegh LNG vessel to leave Egypt

Höegh LNG and Egypt Natural Gas Holdings (Egas) have agreed to amend the time charter for Höegh Gallant, so the vessel can be chartered as an LNG carrier to a third party.

Egas has agreed to compensate for the rate difference between the original FSRU contract and the new LNG carrier time charter. The time charter is scheduled to commence this month and run through to April 2020, the termination date of the original five-year FSRU contract.

Höegh LNG says it expects to record an impairment on the equipment installed on the jetty in Ain Sokhna, Egypt, which has a book value of around $9m.

Sveinung Støhle, president and CEO of Höegh LNG, commented: “We are proud to have provided FSRU services to Egas since 2015, during a period in which Höegh Gallant‘s regasification capacity has been fully utilized, contributing strongly to balancing supply with demand in the Egyptian natural gas market. Under this amended contract we maintain our highly valued relationship with Egas, which we hope to further expand in the future as Egypt emerges as a regional energy hub.”