Excelerate Energy Inc. and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany have signed a 5-year contract to charter 5-billion cu m/year floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Excelsior, starting first-quarter 2023. The 138,000-cu m vessel will be berthed in the Port of Wilhelmshaven.
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action previously announced that a consortium including Tree Energy Solutions (TES) GMBH, E.ON SE, and Engie SA would jointly develop and implement Germany’s fifth FSRU-based import terminal using an Excelerate vessel (OGJ Online, Sept. 2, 2022). The FSRU will also accelerate development of TES’s green hydrogen terminal at Wilhelmshaven, according to Excelerate.
Excelsior will go to drydock at the end of 2022 for scheduled maintenance before deployment to Germany. It has most recently been operating in Israel.
Europe has been monitoring natural gas supply and discussing a possible price cap as the first heating season in the wake of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine approaches. German storage is 95% full (OGJ Online, Oct. 18, 2022).