SKAUGEN Gulf Petchem Carriers (SGPC) is a young innovative Bahraini shipping company that was created with the goal of developing specialist niche shipping solutions for the transportation of liquefied petroleum (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Well known as Skaugen Gulf, the company was incorporated in 2009 in Bahrain by the Norwegian shipping specialist, I M Skaugen. In 2010, the shareholder base of Skaugen Gulf was broadened by the addition of stakeholders, nogaholding, Bahrain’s Oil and Gas Holding Company and Capital Management House, the specialist Islamic finance house.
Utilising the knowledge and expertise of IM Skaugen, its founder shareholder, Skaugen Gulf will initially invest in small sophisticated ships capable of carrying liquefied gases that can command a better than average industry return on investment.
Skaugen Gulf is strategically based at the centre of the Gulf’s petrochemical industries in Bahrain where the company can capitalise on the rapid growth in the exports of speciality liquefied gases from the region. The ships will trade worldwide with the primary focus on the “East of Suez” cargo flows from the Middle East to Asia.
Initially, Skaugen Gulf will focus on carrying ethylene and similar related products through the acquisition of small liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers developed by IM Skaugen.
Skaugen Gulf will establish a key regional and international position with its unrivalled specialist expertise in this fast developing sector. The heart of the Skaugen Gulf fleet will be its innovative and highly efficient Multigas ships designed for the carriage of LNG and other liquefied petrochemical gases. The shareholders of SGPC are IM Skaugen (IMS) 35 per cent, The Oil and Gas Holding Company (nogaholding) 35 per cent and Capital management House (CMH) 30 per cent.
Listed on the Oslo Stock exchange (IMSK) IMS is an integrated shipping company which designs, owns, builds and manages its own fleets of ships. In gas transportation, IMS activities are carried out through the Norgas Carrier fleet which specialises in liquefied gas transportation. In recent years, IMS has become synonymous with specialist small-scale and highly efficient LNG and LPG solutions. With offices in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, IM Skaugen through SPT provides fully dedicated ship-to-ship marine transfer operations.
Nogaholding is the investment arm of the Bahrain’s National Oil & Gas authority under the responsibility of Bahrain’s Minister of Energy. nogaholding is a business-focused company that aims to create shareholder value by the successful management of a portfolio of Bahrain’s shareholdings in oil, gas, petrochemicals and related industries.
The company has investments in eight strategic companies including Skaugen Gulf Petchem Carriers (SGPC).
Established in Bahrain in 2006 Capital Management House is an Islamic investment bank delivering a range of services from private equity and venture capital to asset management, real estate, investment banking and Shari’ah advisory services. CMH is primarily focused on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. CMH raised its capital in 2009 to US$ 100 million.
Skaugen Gulf will operate a fleet of six specialised ethylene and LNG carriers. The first two, Norgas Chief and Norgas Challenger, have been chartered from IM Skaugen. In 2011, the first of the company’s innovative 12,000 cbm capacity Multigas vessels will be bareboat chartered in. The first – Bahrain Vision – was delivered in July 2011 to be followed by the second vessel in October 2011.
These will be followed by orders for a further two sister ships which will be directly to the account of Skaugen Gulf, bringing the Multigas fleet to four ships.
The Multigas vessels are designed to carry a range of liquefied natural gas cargoes, including LNG at temperatures as low as – 162’C. Equipped with two cryogenic tanks of 6,000 CBM, the vessels are built at the specialist Chinese manufacturer, Sheng Hui.
Uniquely the ships are fitted with an onboard re-gasification unit which avoids cargo wastage through boil-off.
