Tor Olav Troim-led Golar LNG has raised $572m by selling its interests in Eastern Pacific Shipping’s Cool Company (CoolCo) and US-listed New Fortress Energy and is set to splash out $78m on a secondhand LNG carrier buy for conversion into a floating LNG production unit.
Announcing its 2022 results on Tuesday, FLNG-focused Golar said it has sold 8.3m shares in New Fortress for $418m.
It had also paid $100m in cash and handed over its remaining 4.1m shares in New Fortress to acquire the US-listed company’s interest in FLNG unit Golar Hilli.
Golar has also sold out of its shareholding in CoolCo, selling 8m shares in the fourth quarter to net $98m and 4.5m in February that are expected to raise net proceeds of around $56m the company said.
This leaves Eastern Pacific with a 58% shareholding in CoolCo.
Golar sold out its downstream LNG assets to New Fortress in January 2021.
In December 2021, Golar offloaded its LNG carrier fleet to Eastern Pacific which then spun them off under new venture CoolCo in early 2022.
Golar also revealed on Tuesday that it has secured an option to buy a 148,000-cbm Moss-type LNG carrier and has ordered long-lead items for one of its $300m planned Mark II LNG carrier-to-FLNG conversions.
The company said it made a non-refundable payment of $5m on the vessel in February 2023 which, subject to the option being exercised in the second quarter of 2023, will be deducted from the agreed $78m purchase price.
“Significant progress has been made with the conversion shipyard, procurement of long lead items and financing,” the company said.
“Strong client engagement also continues for potential deployment, and economics are attractive for both integrated and tolling fee opportunities. Securing attractive delivery for this future FLNG unit increases Golar’s ability to drive value with prospective FLNG clients.”
Golar also said it has seen “increasing engagement” with prospective clients for a potential redeployment of FLNG unit Golar Hilli when its current contract with Perenco in Cameroon ends.
The company said its “re-contracting focus” is on integrated opportunities together with upstream partners.
It detailed that the conversion of FLNG Gimi for BP’s Tortue Ahmeyim project in Mauritania and Senegal is 92% complete and still on track for a first half 2023 sail away from Singapore.
Golar turned in a net income of $787.8m for 2022, almost double the $413.9m logged a year earlier.
Total operating revenues for the company last year inched up 3% to $267.7m, from $260.3m in 2021.
Fourth-quarter net income soared to $71m from $8m in 2021 but total operating revenue for the last three months of 2022 slipped to $59.1m from $65.5m in the same period a year earlier.
