The company will enter into long-term time charters with particular ship owners rather than purchasing its own vessels.
U.S. exploration & production company, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has recently announced that it intends to seek long-term charters for about 16 LNG (liquefied natural gas) tankers which it would need to ship gas from a proposed project in Mozambique.
Sources close to the move claim that the independent energy producer aims to take an FID (final investment decision) on the $20 billion project in the coming months, having signed up long-standing buyers for its LNG produce.
As per a statement, Anadarko said that all the contracts signed so far, for over 9.5 mtpa (million tons a year) out of a capacity of 12.88 mtpa, were on a DES (delivered ex-ship) basis, adding that the company could have sold the LNG on a FOB (free on board) basis as many U.S. LNG projects do, leaving the buyers to organize their shipping.
Reportedly, an Anadarko spokesperson was quoted saying that the project needs around 16 LNG vessels to service the DES contracts, however, as the specifics of the tendering process are confidential, the project intends to enter into long-term time charters with particular ship owners rather than purchasing its own vessels.
For the record, Anadarko’s project, slated to be one of the world’s largest planned LNG project, is located alongside Exxon Mobil Corp.’s LNG project in the northern region of Mozambique. The two projects are expected to yield gas from the Rovuma basin offshore, where reserves have been found in large quantities enough for decade’s worth of European consumption.
Moreover, Anadarko also has LNG supply deals with Japanese utilities Tohoku Electric and Tokyo Gas, European utilities EDF and Centrica, China’s CNOOC, Indonesia’s Pertamina, India’s Bharat Petroleum and UK’s Royal Dutch Shell.