Barclays Capital and Excelerate Energy LLC have agreed for Barclays to market Excelerate’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargos arriving at its Northeast Gateway deepwater port. Barclays also will provide optimization and hedging services as part of what the firm said is its new Barclays Capital LNG Services division.

The investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC said it will provide Excelerate with fixed-price hedging mechanisms. Additional services include taking physical delivery, transport and optimization of cargoes through profit-sharing by the parties.

“This agreement links the trading and risk management expertise of Barclays Capital with the LNG marketing expertise and industry-leading innovation of Excelerate Energy,” said Henry Weitzner, head of U.S. natural gas and power trading for Barclays Capital. “By providing customized services to the client, we help them offset risk while enabling attractive pricing for both the natural gas seller and buyer.”

Excelerate’s technology allows LNG to be regasified while onboard the LNG ship. The Northeast Gateway facility entered operation in spring 2008 (see Daily GPI, May 20, 2008). It consists of two submerged buoys that attach to the ships to offload regasified LNG and send it into a subsea pipeline system.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with Barclays Capital in developing new strategies for optimizing our cargoes in the Northeast,” said Andree Stracke, Excelerate chief commercial officer. “The solutions they are providing give us liquidity and flexibility in a volatile trading environment. As the Northeast market is one of the most valuable in the Atlantic, this agreement provides better price stability for ourselves and our customers in the region.”

Barclays Capital LNG Services was launched with the Excelerate transaction. “With increasing globalization in gas markets and renewed emphasis on the Atlantic basin for LNG over the last year, there is clearly a heightened role for the types of services that Barclays Capital can offer the LNG community,” said Jonathan Whitehead, Barclays Capital head of commodity sales and structuring in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

©Copyright 2009Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.