Golar LNG Wraps Up Golar Viking Sale

Golar LNG Ltd has completed the sale and delivery of the 2005-built LNG carrier Golar Viking to PT Perusahaan Pelayaran Equinox (Equinox), the company said.

The transaction has been concluded at a sale price of USD 135 million. The vessel has been re-named “Salju” under Indonesian flag and registry. 

Under Indonesian Cabotage regulations, LNG cargoes produced and sold within Indonesia must be transported on an Indonesian-flagged vessel.

With an anticipated increase in domestic allocation for Indonesian produced LNG cargoes in 2015, Equinox said it believes the timing is right to acquire the Golar Viking and transfer the vessel to Indonesian flag.

The growth in the Indonesian domestic trade of LNG is the direct result of the recent introduction of 3 new LNG terminals which are supplied from LNG production facilities at Bontang and Tangguh.

The receiving terminals are the FSRU Nusantara Regas Satu (commenced operations in Q2 2012) located in West Java, PGN FSRU (Q3 2014) located in Lampung and the Arun Receiving Terminal in Aceh Province, scheduled to commence operations in the first quarter of 2015.

FSRU Nusantara Regas Satu is owned and operated by PT Golar Indonesia, a joint venture company between Golar and Equinox’s parent company.

“The transfer of ownership and the anticipated future employment of the vessel recognises that long haul sea borne trade will increasingly become dominated by modern, larger and more efficient vessels providing greater economies of scale. In connection with the sale, Golar has repaid a secured bank loan of approximately USD 82 million,” Golar said.

“The sale of the vessel in support of Equinox’s aim of actively servicing Indonesian domestic LNG shipping demand fits with our strategy of maximizing cash flows in the currently challenging shipping environment. The transaction further confirms Golar’s strategy of reducing the Company’s exposure to the LNG shipping market and focusing its investment in the FLNG business,” said Gary Smith, CEO Golar Management.