Sources inform ''Globes'' that Excelerate Energy Inc. of the US is the sole candidate to win the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, after Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) classified the process as a contract with a single supplier and Excelerate was the only company to meet the prequalification terms.
IEC's board of directors will be asked to approve the contract with Excelerate, with an exemption from a tender, subject to public comments.
Excelerate owns the world's largest fleet of LNG tankers, and it was the only company willing to commit to the short 18-month timetable of IEC's project. Under the project, LNG tankers will hook up with a gasification ship, which Excelerate will provide, to convert the LNG back into gas for delivery to land. The tankers will be hooked up to the gasification ship by a buoy located 2-5 kilometers offshore from IEC's Orot Rabin Power Station's pier at Hadera.
The sources said that IEC decided that only Excelerate met the prequalification terms of the project, after receiving responses from three foreign companies. This means that IEC can begin negotiations with a single supplier without the need to hold a tender. The public will have ten days to respond to IEC's decision to enter into talks with Excelerate.
In March 2011, Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau ordered the import of LNG by the end of 2012, in order to have available a solution for natural gas supplies if there are delays in the start of gas flow from Tamar.
Israel Natural Gas Lines Ltd. will build the buoy, at an estimated cost of $70 million. The gasification ship could cost $150,000 a day to lease.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 17, 2011
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