Golar LNG Partners in FLNG Hilli Episeyo acquisition

Golar LNG Partners has agreed to acquire the equity interests in the FLNG Hilli Episeyo from Golar LNG, Keppel and Black and Veatch.

The purchase price for the acquired interests is $658 million less net lease obligations under the financing facility for the Hilli that are expected to be between $468 and $480 million.

Concurrent with the execution of the purchase and sale agreement, the Partnership paid a $70 million deposit to Golar, upon which it will receive interest at a rate of 5 percent per annum. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur on or before April 30, 2018.

The acquired interest will represent the equivalent of 50 percent of the two liquefaction trains, out of a total of four, that have been contracted to Perenco Cameroon and Societe Nationale Des Hydrocarbures for an eight-year period, the partnership said on Wednesday.

The Hilli conversion is nearing completion and no major issues have been identified, with all equipment installed and pre-commissioning work well underway.

The partnership said, Golar is focused on doing as much testing as possible in the yard and at anchorage in order to minimize the risk of issues being encountered in Cameroon. The extra days spent in Singapore are expected to reduce the time required for commissioning on site.

The Hilli is scheduled to leave Singapore for Cameroon at the end of September or beginning of October with LNG bunkering booked for mid-September.

The mooring system has been installed in Cameroon and is ready for hook up of Hilli. The voyage between Singapore and Cameroon is expected to take 32 to 40 days, allowing Golar to tender its notice of readiness during the first half of November.

The Hilli Episeyo is designed for a liquefaction capacity of about 2.4 million tons of LNG per annum.