Shell is set to bring two 10-year-old LNG carriers to the market this month.
Brokers said the company is expected to float a tender to sell the 170,000-cbm Methane Patricia Camila and Methane Mickie Harper (both built 2010) with charter-back deals on offer for both.
The membrane-type, tri-fuel diesel-electric (TFDE) LNG carriers, which are among some of the earliest to be fitted with onboard reliquefaction systems, were two of the vessels Shell inherited when it took over BG Group and its LNG shipping assets in 2016.
They are listed as due for special surveys in October and December this year, respectively.
TradeWinds understands that the two ships are connected to the BG Group pension fund. It is unclear why they are coming up for sale at this time.
Both LNG carriers appear to be trading, with ship tracking data showing them shipping cargoes from Peru and Australia.
When asked about potential LNG carrier sales during a recent interview, shipping and maritime vice president Grahaeme Henderson said it would be part of Shell’s general portfolio review.
Lively discussions
The Methane Patricia Camila and Methane Mickie Harper were ordered by BG Group at Samsung Heavy Industries in 2008. At the time, they were the largest ships contracted by the company, which decided to up its specifications to include onboard reliquefaction to maximise delivered cargo volumes at an extra cost of $50m per vessel.
When Shell finalised its $53bn buyout of BG Group four years ago, it told TradeWinds that it would be integrating more than 30 LNG carriers into its then 40-ship fleet after the takeover.
The ships expected to be offered for sale are not the oldest Shell took on, and are likely to generate lively discussions about their value.
Sales of secondhand LNG carriers are not common and there can be a wide divergence between buyers and sellers’ expectations and the price pegs applied to the pair by independent parties, due to the differing ship technologies and the lack of benchmark deals.
One of four TMS Cardiff Gas sisterships, the 160,000-cbm Corcovado LNG (built 2014), was recently recirculated for sale.
The TFDE vessel, which came up for grabs last year along with its three sisterships, is being marketed for sale after a fund originally set up to finance the ships matured, prompting asset manager MatlinPatterson to try to sell its stake in the quartet.
Some brokers valued the vessel at $80m. Others working more closely with the ships estimated its value to be in the range of $110m to $130m.
Those eyeing the Shell duo pointed out that they are slightly larger vessels but are four years older than the TMS Cardiff ship.
This month, a 174,000-cbm LNG carrier newbuilding resale with gas-injection propulsion delivering in 2022 was reported sold at $160m.
