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A Shifting Triangle albeit with a different focus than previous on shipping in-

As the Triangle changes its shape, Namibia, further south, vestments. At the February, 2024 annual “HACC NACC” is set to come on the scene as an offshore oil producer in the event in New York, Art Regan, CEO, Energos Infrastruc- late 2020s; Shell and Total are currently involved in explo- ture, an owner of LNG carriers, storage vessels, and impor- ration efforts in the Venus Basin, with Chevron expected to tantly, foating storage and regasifcation( FSRU) capabili- enter the fray. As appraisal drilling progresses, a Total sub- ties, delved into backers’ fnancial rationale of its backers: sidiary exercised an option to extend its charter of the 6th the $14B Infrastructure division of PE-giant Apollo Global. generation DP3 semisubmersible Deepsea Mira (owned by “I would say it’s predictable income. Using Apollo as

John Fredriksen-linked Northern Ocean). Shell has a sister a reference, the mandate has moved away from risk; they rig Deepsea Bollsta drilling in the nearby Orange Basin, are more of a pension fund manager than a PE shop as expected to come off charter in mid-2024. Previously, the we know them from 20 years ago.” Earlier rounds of PE 7th generation drillship Maersk Voyager had been on to investment in shipping companies – by Apollo and others

Total, with Vantage Drilling’s Tungsten Explorer presently – had looked to asset appreciation, with mixed outcomes. on charter until mid-2025, with further options. Regan, continuing, explained that suitable structures are

In adjacent waters farther east, Total is leading a group of “long-term income based” adding that “what we do is partners including Qatar Energy, and Africa Energy, seeking more terminal management than pure play shipping.” to develop gas felds discovered in Brulpadda and Luiperd Apollo now owns 100% of Energos Infrastructure, fol- blocks within the Outeniqua Basin, with plans to process the lowing a deal cemented in February, 2024 when New gas (transmitted using existing infrastructure serving existing Fortress Energy (NYSE: NFE, an offshoot of the PE be- felds closer to shore) at a gas-to-liquids facility at Mossel hemoth Fortress Investment) with Assets Under Manage-

Bay. Rystad, in its commentary, had opined that: “…discov- ment (AUM) of $46 billion in late 2023, sold a 20% stake eries such as Brulpadda and Luiperd in South Africa in 2019 that it held. and 2020 and Venus and Graff in Namibia, both in 2022, Energos represents a new breed of infrastructure provider, have led to the opening of new hydrocarbon plays.” motivated by energy security concerns as well as the ongoing

Elsewhere, a U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy In- transition to fuels with lower carbon footprints. Energos In- formation Administration (EIA) December 2023 report frastructure actually came on the scene in the months after explained that: “Mozambique has in recent years dealt the 2022 disruptions in the movement of Russian gas into with a sudden infux of militant attacks on areas close to Europe, bringing in a feet previously owned by Golar LNG export infrastructure. These security issues have resulted in Partners LP, and then transitioned into NFE before moving the declaration of force majeure on the Mozambique LNG into the hands of Apollo. project, delaying the facility’s start date and the develop- In the wake of reduced gas availability from Russia, Ener- ment of other LNG infrastructure projects.” gos (which has chartering arrangements with NFE around

But there has been progress. In late 2022, ENI began six of its 13 vessels, with NFE dealing with the gas import- exporting LNG of the Coral South foating liquefed natu- ers and exporters) was quick to deploy its FSRU Energos ral gas project, where it is the operator and majority part- Igloo at Rotterdam to feed the Dutch power grid. Another ner. The FLNG Coral Sul, drawing gas from six undersea FSRU, Energos Celsius, is being deployed at Barcarena in wells, has the capacity to produce 3.4 million tpy. A second northern Brazil (after conversion at Seatrium in Singapore

FLNG project, also in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin, is re- from a conventional LNG carrier) and will be fueling alu- portedly in works, though no FID has been announced. mina production in addition to serving a power plant un- der construction. Nine of Regan’s company’s 13 vessels are

Moving Energy described as FSRUs. In early 2024, two additional vessels,

For the transport side, the new equipment and infra- 174,000 cbm capacity acquired from Greek owner Dyna- structure confgurations are complemented by fnancial gas (Procopiou), handling gas imports into Germany, were structures that are variations of more conventional balance slated to join the feet.

sheet funding. They keep the longer-term favor and proj- Talking about customers’ motivations for foating regasif- ect-specifc favors that have characterized offshore invest- cation using FSRU’s (which Art Regan described as “plug ing, but move ownership to the Private Equity (PE) sphere, and play” in his HACC NACC remarks) rather than build-

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