Tor Olav Trøim’s Golar LNG is looking into options for the 2003-built steam turbine carrier Golar Arctic after its conversion plans with Italian energy company Snam did not materialise in time.
after its conversion plans with Italian energy company Snam did not materialise in time.In May last year, Snam signed up to convert the vessel into a 140,000 cu m floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) for an energy supply project in the port area of Portovesme, on the island of Sardinia.
The deal, worth €269m ($283m at the time), was subject to Snam giving the green light for the conversion, which would have taken about two years to complete.
However, in its quarterly earnings report, Golar said that Snam’s deadline for issuing a notice to proceed with the FSRU conversion expired during the quarter.
“This option lapsed in July and we are now reviewing alternatives for her, including long-term charter or asset sale,” the company’s chief executive Karl Fredrik Staubo told investors during the Q2 earnings call.
Golar had been exploring alternatives for the vessel even before the agreement with Snam, which would have ultimately been sold to the state-controlled gas grid operator. In June last year, Snam bought Golar’s 2015-built FSRU Golar Tundra for $350m which is serving as an import terminal in the Italian port of Piombino.
