Bomin Linde LNG and Klaipedos Nafta Establish Joint-Venture for LNG Bunker Supply Vessel

Vilnius, November 24, 2015

Today, Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG and SC Klaipedos Nafta have signed a contract to establish a joint-venture. The agreement sets up a new company, Blue LNG, which is going to implement the LNG Bunker Supply Vessel project. The Hamburg-based Bomin Linde LNG will hold 80 percent of the shares, 20 percent will be at hands of SGD logistika, a fully owned subsidiary of Klaipedos Nafta.

The aim of the agreement, signed today by Mahinde Abeynaike, Managing Director of Bomin Linde LNG, and Mantas Bartuska, General Manager of Klaipedos Nafta, is to build and operate a LNG Bunker Supply Vessel that will be put into operation in 2017. It will mainly fulfill the following functions:

1. Supplying the marine customers of Bomin Linde LNG with liquefied natural gas (LNG) as ship fuel
2. Securing a flexible LNG transport service to the LNG reloading station of Klaipedos Nafta
3. Offering further services regarding LNG, e. g. transporting it to small-scale terminals at the Baltic and North Sea

“This agreement means that Bomin Linde LNG, as the leading supplier of marine LNG in Northwest Europe, and Klaipedos Nafta, as an operator of the first full-scale LNG terminal in the Baltic Sea, are joining forces to extend Klaipeda as LNG hub in the region. The Klaipeda LNG terminal which is already in operation and soon-to-be-built LNG reloading station will be connected by the LNG Bunker Supply Vessel operated by Blue LNG.”, says Mantas Bartuška, General Manager of Klaipedos Nafta.

“This partnership with Klaipedos Nafta marks a further step on the road of Klaipeda becoming our hub for efficient LNG supply to the Baltic Sea ports and other North Western European locations. In the next step, we will order the LNG Bunker Supply Vessel which will combine state-of-the-art technology, highest safety standards and superior performance”, Mahinde Abeynaike, Managing Director of Bomin Linde LNG explains.

Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG

Located in Hamburg, Germany, Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG is a leading provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as marine fuel. As a joint venture of The Linde Group and Mabanaft GmbH & Co. KG, which is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG, Bomin Linde LNG has access to a broad range of expertise in cryogenic engineering, logistics and fuel supply.

The strategy of Bomin Linde LNG is to cover the complete LNG value chain – from sourcing and transport through storage and distribution to refueling ships with LNG in strategically important ports.

SC Klaipedos Nafta

Klaipedos Nafta owns and operates one of the most modern crude oil and crude oil products terminals in Europe. It operates in the ice-free port of Klaipeda, a major Lithuanian transport junction connecting sea routes, motorways and railways between the East and West.

Klaipedos Nafta also is the operator of the Klaipeda LNG Terminal of 170,000 m3 storage capacities and the annual capacity of 4 bcm of regasified natural gas.