Dynagas LNG Partners entered a long-term time charter with Russian oil and gas firm Gazprom for the 150,000-cbm Clean Energy (built 2007), the company’s only non-ice classed LNG carrier, scotching rumours that it would be turned into a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU)
The contract, which begins July 2018, will last for about seven years and nine months. The charter is expected to generate gross contracted revenue of $133m, or approximately $47,000 per day.
The Clean Energy is currently under hire to Shell, with that deal set to expire in the second quarter of next year. The Clean Energy will then undergo a five-year special survey and dry docking, after which it will be employed in the spot market until the Gazprom charter begins.
Dynagas also agreed to lower the rate for Gazprom on two existing time charters for the 155,000-cbm Lena River and Yenisei River (both built 2013). Dynagas plans to reduce the contracted revenues for the Yenisei River by $8.7m and for the Lena River by $9.6m over the remaining charter terms, which expire at the earliest in July and September 2018.
Dynagas chief executive Tony Lauritzen said the company’s contracted backlog will reach $1.6bn, up from $1.5bn, as a result of the new charter agreements. While the Clean Energy had previously been tipped as a FSRU conversion candidate, Lauritzen said “that employing this particular vessel as a conventional LNG carrier as opposed to converting it into an FSRU is a low risk and economical solution that benefits our shareholders.”
