zoomImage Courtesy: Teekay

Bermuda-headquartered owner and operator of liquefied natural gas carriers Teekay LNG Partners experienced a growth in its net income for the fourth quarter of 2016, which rose to USD 91.4 million from USD 77.1 million in the same period of 2015.

“During the fourth quarter, the partnership continued to generate stable cash flows supported by a diversified portfolio of long-term contracts totaling approximately USD 12 billion in forward, contracted revenue and with a weighted average remaining contract length of 13 years,” Mark Kremin, President and CEO of Teekay Gas Group, noted.

Kremin further said that the results for Q4 2016 included contribution from the delivery of the partnership’s second MEGI LNG newbuilding, Oak Spirit, which started a charter with Houston-based Cheniere Energy. Teekay LNG Partners expects to take delivery of Torben Spirit, the third MEGI LNG carrier, at the end of this month.

“We continue to make significant progress on securing long-term financing for our growth projects and bolster our liquidity position,” Kremin pointed out, adding that the company secured around USD 1.2 billion of long-term financing for its growth projects delivering through early-2020.

In addition, Teekay LNG Partners’ CEO said that the firm refinanced its 40 percent-owned RasGas 3 LNG carriers and completed a USD 36 million Norwegian Kroner bond add-on issuance in December 2016 and January 2017, respectively, adding approximately USD 80 million of liquidity.

“Looking ahead, we are on track to complete the remainder of the required long-term financings for the partnership’s growth projects within the second half of 2017,” Kremin concluded.

Despite the rise in the company’s 4Q net income, Teekay LNG Partners’ full-year profit went down to USD 158 million in 2016 from USD 217.5 million in 2015.

As of February 2017, Teekay LNG has a fleet of 84 vessels, comprising 59 owned ships, 2 chartered-in ships and 23 newbuildings on order.