Excelerate Energy Inc

Overview and History

Excelerate offers LNG solutions, providing integrated services along the LNG value chain. We offer a full range of regasification services, from FSRUs to infrastructure development, to LNG and natural gas supply. Excelerate was incorporated on September 10, 2021, as a Delaware corporation. Excelerate was formed as a holding company to own, as its sole material asset, a controlling equity interest in Excelerate Energy Limited Partnership (“EELP”), a Delaware limited partnership formed in December 2003 by George B. Kaiser (together with his affiliates other than the Company, “Kaiser”).

In April 2022, Excelerate closed its initial public offering (the “IPO”). As a result of the IPO, Excelerate became the general partner of EELP. As we operate and control all of EELP’s business and affairs, we consolidate the financial results of EELP and report non-controlling interests related to the interests held by the other partners of EELP in our consolidated financial statements. The approximately 22.5% of EELP partnership interests owned by us are classified as Class A interests. The remaining approximately 77.5% of EELP interests are owned by Excelerate Energy Holdings, LLC (“EE Holdings”), an entity owned and controlled by Kaiser, and are classified as Class B interests.

Our Company

Excelerate is changing the way the world accesses cleaner and more reliable energy by delivering regasified natural gas which benefits hundreds of millions of people around the world. From our founding, we have focused on providing LNG solutions to markets in diverse environments across the globe, providing a lesser emitting form of energy to markets that often rely on coal as their primary energy source. At Excelerate, we believe that access to energy sources such as LNG is critical to assisting markets in their decarbonization efforts, while at the same time promoting economic growth and improving quality of life.

Our business spans the globe, with a regional presence in 11 countries and an operational presence in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), and the United States. We are the largest provider of regasified LNG capacity in Argentina, Bangladesh, Finland and the UAE. We are also one of the largest providers of regasified LNG capacity in Brazil, where we operate the largest FSRU, and Pakistan, where we have regasified more LNG than any other provider in the past 10 years. We intend to continue marketing natural gas and LNG, both of which offer a cleaner energy source from which power can be generated consistently, in the markets where we operate. The high value our customers place on our services has resulted in a reliable source of revenues to us.

Our business focuses on the integration of the natural gas-to-power LNG value chain, and as part of this value chain, we operate regasification terminals in global economies that utilize our FSRU fleet. Our business is substantially supported by time charter and terminal use contracts, which are effectively long-term, take-or-pay arrangements and provide consistent revenue and cash flow from our high-quality customer base. As of December 31, 2024, we operate a fleet of 10 purpose-built FSRUs, have completed more than 3,000 ship-to-ship (“STS”) transfers of LNG with over 50 LNG operators since we began operations and have safely delivered more than 7,300 billion cubic feet of natural gas through 16 LNG regasification terminals.

We believe the commercial momentum we have established in recent years and the increasing need for access to LNG around the world have resulted in a significant portfolio of new growth opportunities for us to pursue. In addition to our FSRU and terminal services businesses and LNG and natural gas sales, we anticipate expanding our business through organic and inorganic commercial opportunities. We are evaluating and pursuing projects in various stages of development, including opportunities in South Asia, Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Our integrated LNG solutions are designed to avoid the roadblocks that routinely hinder the development of terminal, gas and power projects in markets worldwide. We offer enhanced energy security and independence to the countries in which we operate, while playing a vital role in advancing their efforts to lower carbon emissions. From our global experience, we see firsthand the impact of providing local communities with a reliable source of energy and the subsequent development of natural gas and power infrastructure to take advantage of the natural gas we deliver to them. With improved access to cleaner and more reliable energy, countries are able to power industries, light homes and bolster economies. Additionally, some of the markets in which we operate lack developed energy infrastructure and therefore rely heavily on our services.

FSRU Fleet

As of December 31, 2024, our fleet includes 10 operational FSRUs plus one additional FSRU under construction. All of the operational vessels in our fleet were built by leading Korean shipyards and were delivered to us as new vessels in the year of delivery set forth in the table below. Our new FSRU is being constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and is scheduled to be delivered to us in 2026. We are the sole owner of eight FSRUs and we charter two others: Experience, through a long-term charter that is a finance lease from a third party, and Exquisite, through a long-term charter that is a finance lease in a joint venture with Nakilat Excelerate LLC

(the “Nakilat JV”), in which we hold a 45% interest. In March 2023, we exercised a purchase option for Sequoia, which was previously leased from a third party on a five-year charter. The purchase was finalized in April 2023.

In addition to standard LNG carrier functionality, our purpose-built FSRUs have the onboard capability to vaporize LNG and deliver natural gas through specially designed offshore and near-shore receiving facilities. Our FSRUs can deliver natural gas at pipeline pressure with maximum send-out capacities ranging from 600 million standard cubic feet per day (“MMscf/d”) to up to 1,200 MMscf/d continuously, providing quick and convenient access to incremental natural gas supplies.

The table below sets forth information about each of our owned and chartered FSRUs.

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Peak send-out capacity dependent on local conditions, including operating pressure and seawater temperature.

The technical design of our FSRU fleet allows us to optimize fleet allocation, minimize disruption risks through vessel commonality and operate flexibly. Our vessels are designed to move seamlessly from one location to another and operate in a wide array of weather, locations and seawater temperatures. For example, depending on environmental conditions and local sea water temperature, our FSRUs can be operated in open-loop (i.e., using sea water or glycol water as the heating medium) or closed-loop (i.e., recirculating loop for freshwater onboard, heated by ship’s systems) mode. Closed-loop mode is usually required for colder water temperatures.

By managing the day-to-day operations of our FSRUs, we offer our customers a commitment to operational excellence and a consistent approach to seagoing and shore-based personnel development, and we endeavor to continually improve our environmental and safety culture and standards, including reducing environmental impacts from our operations and assets and enhancing our monitoring and reporting of emissions and ecological impacts.

Time Charter Customers and Contracts

Our time charter and terminal use customers are a mix of state owned oil and gas companies, transmission operators and industrial users of natural gas. Our LNG solutions provide natural gas supply to countries seeking reliable natural gas and power to ensure their energy security. We typically enter into take-or-pay contracts for FSRU long-term charters and integrated LNG terminals. The rates we charge customers are typically based on the economic return requirements for our investments in FSRUs, terminals, pipelines and onshore facilities. Our strategy of operating our FSRUs as an integrated fleet gives us a risk mitigation tool, reducing redeployment risk after the end of a contract as well as reducing the adverse effects of a potential disruption on a current contract.

Our FSRU services are provided to the applicable charterer under separate time charters. A time charter is a contract for the use of an FSRU for a fixed period of time at a specified hire rate per day, which is typically fixed. Under a time charter, we provide the crew, technical and other services related to the FSRU’s operation, the costs of which are included in the hire rate, and the charterer generally is responsible for substantially all of the FSRU voyage costs (including fuel, docking costs, port and canal fees and LNG boil-off). Time charter contracts may be terminated due to material breach, change in law, extended force majeure and other typical termination events. Some customers may also terminate their time charter contracts in advance upon expiration of a period ranging from four to 10 years and payment of associated early termination fees. However, we regularly negotiate with our customers to amend our time charters and extend their terms and termination periods.

As of December 31, 2024, all of our operational FSRUs are contracted. We currently have contracts with customers in Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, Finland, Germany, Pakistan and the UAE, all of which are long-term time charter contracts. In October 2023, we executed a 10-year time charter party (“TCP”) agreement with Petrobras for Sequoia, which commenced on January 1, 2024, and is located at the Bahia Terminal in Brazil.

As of December 31, 2024, the minimum contracted cash flows under our time charter and terminal use contracts was approximately $3.7 billion with a weighted average remaining term of 6.5 years. The stable nature of our FSRU revenue stream is underscored by the critical nature of the services we provide to our customers, which are often in markets lacking natural gas supply optionality. Additionally, our history of operational excellence and our reputation with host governments have resulted in contract renewals, capacity expansions, and other opportunities to help our customers meet increasing needs for cleaner energy. We regularly engage our customers to negotiate potential extensions of our contracts, and many of our older contracts have already been extended. The table below shows the status of our FSRU contract terms as of February 21, 2025:

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Excluding our two evergreen contracts, the minimum contracted cash flows under our time charter and terminal use contracts was approximately $3.6 billion with a weighted average remaining term of 7.4 years.

LNG and Natural Gas Supply & Optimization

Excelerate also generates revenue by selling natural gas and LNG cargos throughout the world. These contracts have been performed under GSAs, LNG sale and purchase agreements (“SPAs”), or master LNG sale and purchase agreements (“MSPAs”), including existing MSPAs that Excelerate has in place with different industry players. Our commercial team has extensive experience sourcing LNG by utilizing wide-ranging, established relationships across the international natural gas industry. We have in excess of 70 MSPAs that enable us to buy and sell LNG and provide adequate supply to our customers. Our operations team has a strong track record of managing loading, transport, and delivery logistics so that cargo supplies are timely and power plant requirements and downstream commitments are met. Cargos have been sold primarily on a Delivery ex-Ship basis while purchases have been a mixture of free-on-board (“FOB”) and Delivery ex-Ship.

Our sales of natural gas and LNG have primarily been conducted through terminals or locations at which we provide time charter services. Over the past four years, we have sold natural gas or LNG on a spot basis at the terminals at which we operate in Bangladesh and Finland, as well as via our Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port in the United States. We also sold LNG into one of the Atlantic Basin regions in which we do business in 2024 through a medium-term sales agreement, as discussed further below. From December 2021 through December 2023, we had a GSA at the Bahia Terminal in Brazil. We continue to look at opportunities to develop additional terminals with integrated natural gas sales as well as agreements to access capacity on existing terminals where we already provide regasification services. We intend to maximize the value of these opportunities by leveraging our network of existing relationships to procure LNG from the international market and by using terminal capacity that has not been assigned to anchor offtakers or adding extra capacity.

During 2023 and 2024, we signed the following additional significant SPAs:

In February 2023, we executed a 20-year SPA with Venture Global LNG. Under the agreement, Excelerate will purchase 0.7 million tonnes per annum (“MTPA”) of LNG on a FOB basis from the Plaquemines Phase 2 LNG facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Our purchase commitment will be based on the final settlement price of Henry Hub natural gas futures contract plus a contractual spread. The start of this commitment is dependent on the second phase of the LNG facility becoming operational, which is not expected in the next twelve months. These LNG volumes are expected to support our efforts to balance the predictable margins from our regasification agreements with additional opportunities from gas sales.

In November 2023, we signed a 15-year SPA with Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation (the “Petrobangla SPA”). Under the agreement, Petrobangla has agreed to purchase LNG from us beginning in 2026. We will deliver 0.85 MTPA of LNG in 2026 and 2027 and 1.0 MTPA from 2028 to 2040. The take-or-pay LNG volumes are expected to be delivered through our two existing FSRUs in Bangladesh, Excellence and Summit LNG, on a Delivery ex-Ship basis.

In January 2024, we signed a 15-year SPA with QatarEnergy. Under the agreement, QatarEnergy will supply LNG to us beginning in 2026. We will purchase 0.85 MTPA of LNG in 2026 and 2027 and 1.0 MTPA from 2028 to 2040. These LNG volumes are intended to be used to supply sales under the Petrobangla SPA.

In the third quarter of 2024, we signed medium-term agreements for LNG purchases and sales in one of the Atlantic Basin regions in which we do business. Over the term, we will purchase and sell approximately 0.65 million tonnes of LNG, the pricing of which is based on Dutch Title Transfer Facility. The first purchase and sale under these agreements were made during the fourth quarter of 2024.

As we grow our business, we are taking a very deliberate and structured approach to sourcing LNG supply. We intend to build a diversified LNG supply portfolio that will allow us to offer a range of cost-effective LNG and natural gas products to both existing and new customers.

Competitive Strengths

We believe we are well positioned to achieve our primary business objectives and execute our business strategies based on the following competitive strengths:

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Experienced LNG Leader and Proven Ability to Execute. We are an admired player within the LNG industry with significant experience across the value chain. Our experienced team and proven LNG solutions, including one of the largest FSRU fleets employed for regasification, more than 3,000 STS transfers of LNG with over 50 LNG operators and the development or operation of 16 LNG import terminals, make us a market leader and a trusted partner for countries that seek to improve their access to energy. We have over two decades of development, construction and operational experience, making us one of the most accomplished, reliable and capable LNG companies in the industry. Our team’s in-depth experience and local presence enable us to support energy hubs by sourcing and aggregating LNG from the global market for delivery downstream, ensuring the long-term stability, reliability and independence of customers’ energy supply.

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Positioned to Meet Growing Global Demand for Cleaner Energy. With the demand for cleaner burning fuels growing worldwide, direct access to diverse, reliable energy sources such as LNG has become a critical enabler for economic growth and improving the quality of life across the globe. LNG provides an abundant, competitive and cleaner energy source to meet the world’s growing energy needs. It is also an efficient means to displace coal and oil, which are higher carbon intensity fuels compared to natural gas. As a result, global LNG demand is expected to increase to approximately 730 MTPA by 2050 from approximately 400 MTPA in 2023, according to the S&P IHS Markit. Despite its advantages, LNG access is not readily available in many emerging markets due to the complexity of LNG import projects. We have an established reputation for developing and operating complex LNG solutions and are a trusted operator with a strong track record of bringing reliability, resiliency and flexibility to energy systems.

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Full-Service, Integrated LNG Business Model Provides Competitive Advantage. As market dynamics and the energy needs of customers have evolved over time, we have embraced the opportunity to expand beyond our FSRU business. Today, we are addressing the need for increased access to LNG with our fully integrated business model that manages the LNG supply chain from procurement until final delivery to end users. We help our customers meet their growing energy demand by providing an array of products, including LNG terminal services and natural gas supply procurement and distribution. By offering our customers flexible, fully integrated and tailored LNG solutions, we are able to increase the financial value of these opportunities while enabling our customers to safely and efficiently access the energy they need.

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Well-Established FSRU Business Supported by Dependable Revenue Base. We own and operate one of the largest FSRU fleets employed for regasification in the industry. The success of our well-established FSRU business is highlighted by our ability to secure long-term, take-or-pay contracts that generate consistent revenue and cash flow with minimal exposure to commodity price volatility. Our ability to swap FSRUs between projects makes our baseline revenue more predictable and minimizes redeployment risk. Further, we minimize the initial commitments for integrated offerings through the initial use of existing, smaller capacity FSRUs while our customers’ markets evolve. Many of our existing customers have benefited from this scalability, which has resulted in better project returns and higher customer loyalty. This strength has allowed us to capture incremental opportunities such as in Brazil, where we developed gas sales through the lease of the Bahia Terminal from Petrobras and in Bangladesh where we secured the Petrobangla SPA. Our profitable FSRU and LNG marketing and supply businesses also provide us with valuable connectivity to global downstream markets. With our expansive global presence, we are well positioned to deliver integrated natural gas and power solutions, giving our customers access to cleaner and more reliable energy.

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Understanding of LNG Market Dynamics Allows for Portfolio Optimization. We leverage our expertise and understanding of LNG market dynamics to create significant value through our LNG marketing and supply business. Our worldwide market access and ability to buy LNG from major LNG producers and suppliers gives us the chance to capture additional value via portfolio optimization and provides incremental cash flow. Even more importantly, our access to diverse, uncorrelated markets, including Asia, Europe and Brazil, generates valuable arbitrage opportunities. We are structuring our business to be able to maximize this extra value from LNG supply to LNG SPAs and GSAs and power purchase agreements. Our strategy of integrating LNG supply, natural gas sales and terminal operations, gives us the ability to optimize our FSRU fleet utilization.

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Proven Management Team. Our management team has experience in all aspects of the LNG value chain and a strong balance of technical, commercial, operational, financial, legal and management skills. Steven Kobos, our President and Chief Executive Officer, has over 25 years of experience working on complex energy and infrastructure development projects and general maritime operations, specifically LNG shipping, FSRUs, chartering of vessels, shipbuilding contracts, operational agreements and related project finance and tax matters, and he has helped establish Excelerate as a growing and profitable international energy company. Oliver Simpson, our Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, has 20 years of experience in natural gas and LNG trading and commercial shipping. Mr. Simpson is responsible for contracting and chartering FSRUs, oversight of current customer contracts and relationships, sourcing and supplying LNG flows, and natural gas marketing. Dana Armstrong, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has over 25 years of experience leading both public and private multinational companies within the energy and biotechnology industries. Ms. Armstrong provides oversight of all global financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury, tax, financial systems and internal controls. David Liner, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has over 25 years of maritime experience in the oil and gas industry with specific expertise in LNG shipping as well as naval architecture, charting and project management. Alisa Newman Hood, our Executive Vice President and General Counsel, has over 20 years of worldwide legal, government relations and energy policy experience. Amy Thompson, our Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, has over 25 years of human resources experience in global oil field services organizations and has held various leadership roles in the United States and the Middle East.

Competitive Landscape

A fundamental aspect of our commercial strategy is to pursue positions aggressively in markets where we can create a foundation for lasting value creation. Although there are several developed countries that make up a significant portion of expected future global LNG demand, they are currently being served by major suppliers and provide limited growth potential for us. We place a high premium on leveraging our integrated LNG model to open new markets and partnering with LNG producers to create sustainable and profitable relationships with our customers. Our competitive landscape includes the following participants:

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FSRU / LNG carrier owners. As the owner and operator of one of the largest FSRU fleets employed for regasification in the industry, we compete with FSRU and LNG carrier (“LNGC”) players, from large public integrated companies to smaller private ship owners. We distinguish ourselves by providing customers with fully integrated solutions beyond just the FSRU, giving us the ability to expand our service as their energy demands increase. This flexible approach, focused on optimizing services by swapping smaller FSRUs for larger ones, performing technical upgrades and offering seasonal service when required, fosters trust and long-term relationships with our customers. We believe the fundamentals supporting the FSRU business model require operators to focus on reliability, value and service, combined with disciplined expansion and growth.

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LNG sellers. When compared to other entities that sell LNG, from large LNG producers to portfolio players to trading houses, we believe we are better positioned to open and expand new markets given our expertise in the downstream portion of the LNG value chain. Our focus is on helping LNG producers expand the reach of their LNG supply beyond their traditional markets, resulting in less price pressure and better portfolio diversification. For example, in close collaboration with QatarEnergy (formerly Qatargas), we succeeded in bringing natural gas to Pakistan and Bangladesh, which triggered a dramatic displacement of coal fired plants from the government’s energy plans.

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LNG-to-power developers. In many of our markets, we compete with other LNG-to-power companies. Our investment strategy is focused on leveraging our FSRU expertise and local operational experience and relationship development to drive the expansion of incremental infrastructure projects downstream of our terminals. Our focus on the LNG-to-power value chain allows us to develop higher quality projects and enhances our ability to compete for new opportunities, as our customers consider incremental investments to meet their growing energy demand needs.

Business Strategies

Our primary objective is to provide superior returns to our shareholders as a leader in the global LNG sector. Our assets and operations help solve global energy security, sustainability and affordability issues for our customers and the markets that they serve. In 2024, we continued to drive improvements to increase earnings by (i) transitioning Sequoia to a 10-year TCP agreement, which will provide consistent and predictable cash flows over the term of the agreement, and (ii) entering into medium-term agreements for LNG purchases and sales in one of the Atlantic Basin regions in which we do business. We also continued to develop our growth project pipeline that we expect will deliver additional shareholder returns over time.

Our FSRU and terminal services business is our strategic core business. Within our core business, our strategy is to continue to:

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Develop our existing diversified regasification business by maintaining high levels of safety and service to protect and enhance our stable, long-term contract revenue and margins. Our current markets are essential to maintaining our revenues and providing new opportunities for downstream growth. Our persistent market presence positions us to compete for new growth opportunities as our customers seek new investments to meet their growing energy needs. To continue to develop our existing, diversified regasification business, we plan to use our brand recognition and strategic commercial actions to develop a reputation as more than an FSRU provider. Maintaining a strong presence will require that our teams continue to place a high priority on operational excellence, safety, active management of technical obsolescence, operation and maintenance improvements, cost management and fleet optimization. We operate our fleet with consistently high levels of availability to provide our customers with the confidence that they can rely on us to provide natural gas when they need it. We also plan to continue our initiative to improve returns on our existing vessels by adjusting day rates to market, as we can, and growing our gas sales within our existing customer relationships. We plan to use our current vessels and their associated stable, long-term contract revenues and margins to fund our growth opportunities.

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Grow our FSRU fleet opportunistically through selective acquisitions to expand market share and by commissioning new vessels or conversions when we anticipate high demand for long-term, high-margin TCP contracts. We seek to consolidate and grow our FSRU market share by reviewing vessel acquisition and conversion opportunities, both at a fleet and an individual vessel level, provided long-term, high margin TCP contract opportunities and utilization forecasts are sufficiently robust. We expect to bring online a new-build FSRU in 2026 to support our forecasted demand and plan to launch additional new vessels as necessary to meet the needs of our new natural gas infrastructure projects in development.

In addition, to grow our core business, our strategy is to:

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Develop or acquire interests in LNG regasification terminals and integrated gas sales infrastructure projects. We plan to develop or acquire interests in LNG regasification terminals and other integrated natural gas infrastructure projects that may also include opportunities for LNG and natural gas sales. In addition, these prospective projects could include LNG-to power facilities. We expect these opportunities to drive additional demand for our core FSRU and terminal services business.

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Create a sizable, diversified LNG and natural gas portfolio. Our expansion into new markets will offer us the opportunity to establish valuable access to a worldwide network of natural gas markets. Our network of supply and charter contracts with, and reputation among, major LNG producers provide us with ample opportunities to grow our LNG portfolio on competitive terms. This diversified portfolio will give us the opportunity to better manage the typical uncertainties of local demand (weather seasonality, economic cycles, availability of renewables, etc.), while capturing arbitrage opportunities. For example, we have already demonstrated the value of accessing the New England market in a flexible way. With the addition of new market access points in Asia, Europe and South America, we can capture value from our LNG procurement portfolio above the margins generated in individual markets. Finally, we have always taken a very deliberate and structured approach to sourcing LNG supply. As we scale our business and gain access to new downstream natural gas markets, we believe that there are benefits from having a diversified LNG supply portfolio, including long-term supply arrangements. Building a diversified LNG supply portfolio will allow us to offer more flexible and cost-effective products to both existing and new customers in downstream markets.

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Emphasize strategic focus and capital discipline. Our core business emerged stronger following the volatile natural gas markets from 2020 through 2023, and we are now poised for prudent deployment of growth capital. Our growth plans will not disrupt our commitment to our disciplined investment philosophy and our systematic approach to project development. The growth opportunities we are currently pursuing offer diversity in both project maturity and project type, featuring a spectrum of final investment decision dates and project structures. We expect to invest in projects across the LNG value chain that offer attractive returns and consistent earnings. It is our aim to maintain and continue to expand our portfolio of growth opportunities that we believe will deliver sustainable and differentiated shareholder returns for years to come.

Seasonality

While most of our operations are conducted under take-or-pay arrangements, seasonal weather can affect the need for our services, particularly natural gas and LNG sales. In response, we often manage seasonal demand fluctuation in our existing markets by configuring our global operations to meet energy needs during the winters in both the northern and southern hemispheres. For example, our FSRUs have helped provide the supply security needed to keep Argentina’s economy moving and sustain the quality of life for its citizens during their winter months, including one FSRU that was reassigned after being placed on a suspension agreement with the German government while the vessel was not required in Germany. Changes in temperature and weather may affect both power demand and power generation mix in the locations we serve, including the portion of electricity provided through hydroelectric plants, thus affecting the need for regasified LNG. These changes can increase or decrease demand for our services and accordingly affect our financial results.

Human Capital Resources and Social Responsibility

Our human capital is our most valuable asset. As of December 31, 2024, we had a global headcount of 919 colleagues, consisting of 241 full-time onshore employees and 678 seafarers. The seafarers and Belgium employees are represented by labor unions or covered under collective bargaining agreements.

We place a high premium on attracting, developing and retaining a talented and high-performing workforce. Our employees act with integrity, responsibility and compliance and are committed to upholding governance and ethics best practices. We believe this commitment is fundamental to having a sustainable business. We offer our employees a variety of company-paid benefits, which we believe are competitive relative to others in our industry. Our onshore employees earn a base salary plus an annual bonus (short term incentive plan) with targets aligned with organizational goals. Our seafarers earn salaries and other compensation commensurate with terms outlined in their collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our relations with our employees are good.

For over two decades, we have provided safe, efficient and cost-effective LNG solutions, and we understand that our success has been in large part due to our employees’ commitment to excellence. Our core values of stewardship, accountability, improvement and leadership (“SAIL”) represent not only our beliefs on how we conduct our business but also how we engage our employees. We have established a corporate culture with a focus on creating a collaborative environment that fosters the personal intellectual growth of each of our employees.

We are dedicated to creating an environment where every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute their unique ideas and perspectives. As a United States (“U.S.”)-based company with global operations, we collaborate with a diverse range of colleagues, vendors, customers, partners, and local communities. The collective sum of our employees' individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, and talent has been crucial to our success over the years.

We are also committed to investing in the communities in which our employees live and work. We take pride in demonstrating our appreciation for our employees by strengthening the health and prosperity of their neighborhoods. As part of our commitment, we focus on keeping people safe, supporting local talent and businesses and contributing to education and health programs, bringing benefits to the generations of today and tomorrow. Guided by our SAIL values and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, our strategic focus areas for corporate social responsibility are health, education and climate.

Health and Safety

Health and safety are core values of Excelerate and begin with the protection of our employees. We value people above all else and remain committed to making their safety, security and health our top priority. To protect our employees, contractors, and surrounding community from workplace hazards and risks, we implement and maintain an integrated management system of policies, practices, and controls, including requirements to complete detailed safety and regulatory compliance training on a regularly scheduled basis for all applicable individuals.

Government Regulation

Our vessels, LNG and natural gas infrastructure and operations are subject to regulation under foreign or U.S. federal, state and local statutes, rules, regulations and laws, as well as international conventions. These regulations require, among other things, consultations with appropriate government agencies and that we obtain, maintain and comply with applicable permits, approvals and other authorizations for the conduct of our business. Governments may also periodically revise their laws or adopt new ones, and the effects of new or revised laws on our operations cannot be predicted. These regulations and laws increase our costs of operations and construction, and failure to comply with them could result in consequences such as substantial penalties or the issuance of administrative orders to cease or restrict operations until we are in compliance. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with the regulations described below. For a discussion of risks related to government regulations, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Regulations.”

Vessels

Our vessels, whether in transit functioning as LNGCs or in port performing FSRU services, are subject to the laws of their flag states (i.e., the countries where they are registered) and the local laws of the port. These laws include international conventions promulgated by the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”) to which the flag states are party. These conventions include: (i) the International Safety Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, which, among other requirements, requires us, as vessel operator, to develop an extensive safety management system that includes the adoption of health, safety, security and environmental policies and operating procedures for safety and environmental protection; (ii) the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, which is a set of measures designed to enhance the security of ships and port facilities; (iii) the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk; and (iv) the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. See discussion of environmental and greenhouse gas regulations below.

We utilize two vessel classification societies, Bureau Veritas and Lloyd’s Register, which keep us informed of the laws of our flag states and enforce them through periodic inspections, which are a prerequisite to us remaining in good standing with the classification societies.

All of our FSRUs are registered in either Belgium or the Marshall Islands.

Regas Terminal and FSRU Operations

With respect to the operation of our vessels, when in port performing FSRU services, and our terminals, which consist of fixed infrastructure located onshore or near shore, we are subject to the regulations of the port state. For projects in which we operate the LNG terminal, we are responsible for obtaining all operating and other permits required by the port state. Otherwise, pursuant to our charter party contracts, our customer (as terminal operator) is responsible for obtaining all permits relating to both the terminal and our FSRU. For certain of our operations where we sell or intend to sell natural gas, we are responsible for obtaining gas marketing licenses, and as we expand our natural gas sales line of business to new markets, we will be responsible for obtaining licenses in those markets.

Environmental Regulation

Our infrastructure and operations are subject to various laws, regulations and conventions relating to the protection of the environment, natural resources and human health. In addition to the IMO conventions mentioned above, we are also subject to the amendment to Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, which limits the sulphur content in the fuel oil used onboard ships, and the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments. These regulations require the installation of controls on emissions and structures to prevent or mitigate any potential harm to human health and the environment and require certain protocols to be in place for mitigating or responding to incidents on our vessels and at our LNG terminals.

Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Regulation

In 2018, the IMO adopted the IMO Greenhouse Gas Strategy (the “2018 IMO GHG Strategy”), which was its initial GHG reduction strategy and a framework for future strategies. Consistent with the 2018 IMO GHG Strategy goal of reducing GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050 as compared to 2008 levels, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (“MEPC”) formally adopted amendments to MARPOL Annex VI at the MEPC’s 76th Session (“MEPC 76”) held in 2021. MEPC 76 established an enforceable regulatory framework to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping, consisting of technical and operational carbon reduction measures, including use of an Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (“EEXI”), an operational Carbon Intensity Indicator (“CII”) and an enhanced Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan. The amendments entered into force on November 1, 2022, requiring calculation of the EEXI to measure a ship’s energy efficiency and to initiate the collection of data for the reporting of its annual operational CII and CII rating. The MEPC’s 80th session (“MEPC 80”) held in July 2023 adopted a revised GHG strategy that aims to further reduce GHG emissions from international shipping. The new targets include, as compared to 2008 levels, at least a 20% reduction in emissions by 2030 (with a stretch goal of 30%) and at least a 70% reduction by 2040 (with a stretch goal of 80%) and the ultimate goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. New MEPC regulations are expected to become effective around mid-2027. The MEPC 80 strategy seeks agreement and finalization on a range of measures by 2025.

On September 15, 2020, the European Parliament voted to include GHG emissions from the maritime sector in the European Union Emissions Trading System (“EU ETS”), the European Union’s carbon market. The Council of the European Union (the “Council”) formally approved European Directive 2003/87/EC and the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Regulation 2015/757 amending the EU ETS on April 25, 2023. Both legislative acts became effective on June 5, 2023 and amendments became applicable January 1, 2024. The legislation extends the existing ETS to maritime shipping and requires sectors subject to the ETS to reduce emissions by 65% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Shipping companies must surrender allowances in a three-year phase-in period, increasing in scope from 40% of their verified emissions allowances in 2024, 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026. All emissions from voyages and port calls within the European Economic Area and 50% of emissions from voyages into or out of the European Economic Area are subject to the EU ETS. The EU ETS initially covers carbon dioxide emissions but will be expanded to include methane and nitrous oxide beginning in 2026, however, the reporting requirements for methane and nitrous oxide began with 2024 emissions, reportable in 2025.

To enforce EU ETS regulations, each country has set up an Administering Authority to manage compliance. Excelerate’s subsidiary, Excelerate Technical Management, is assigned to Belgium. To calculate and surrender allowances, Excelerate Technical Management has opened a Maritime Operator Holding Account. Over the term of our current contracts within Europe, we typically can pass the costs of compliance with the EU ETS through to our customers per our TCP agreements when on charter. However, after those contracts have expired, we may need to incur additional costs to reduce our emissions by implementing decarbonization strategies in order to continue to provide service within Europe.

In July 2023, the Council adopted FuelEU Maritime, a regulation aiming to support the decarbonization of the shipping industry. Upon entering into force January 1, 2025, it increased the share of renewable and low-carbon fuels in the fuel mix of international maritime transport in the European Union (“EU”). The European Parliament, Council of the European Union and the European Commission have reached an agreement on the FuelEU Maritime regulations which became effective January 1, 2025. The agreement ensures the well-to-wake GHG emission intensity on energy used onboard ships trading in the European Union will gradually decrease over time by requiring a two percent reduction in 2025 from the average well-to-wake GHG intensity of the fleet in 2020, increasing annually until reaching an 80% reduction in 2050. FuelEU Maritime regulates the kind of fuel that can be used and encourages the adoption of lower emission fuels by monitoring carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Adoption of these alternate fuels will likely increase fuel costs due to their lower availability and require other investments in newer technology to utilize such fuels. The EU presented to the IMO a GHG fuel intensity proposal similar to the FuelEU Maritime regulation. When the IMO’s GHG fuel intensity proposal becomes effective, there will be two similar but not identical regulations that apply to voyages into, out of and within the EU and European Economic Area.

Employment

Excelerate manages our own vessel operations, including the employment of seafarers onboard the vessels that we operate. All seafarers are subject to collective bargaining agreements based on their nationality and their vessel’s flag state. In addition, seafarers are covered by the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, which is a binding international agreement setting out certain employment rights for seafarers, and corresponding obligations placed on maritime employers.

Properties

Our corporate headquarters are in The Woodlands, Texas, and we also have regional presences in Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chattogram, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Hanoi, Helsinki, London, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Washington, D.C. We own no material properties other than our vessels and terminal assets.

Intellectual Property

We rely on trademarks and domain names to establish and protect our proprietary rights, including registrations for “Excelerate Energy” and the Excelerate logo. In addition, we are the registered holder of a variety of domestic domain names, including “excelerateenergy.com.”

Available Information

We are required to file any annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and certain other information with the SEC.

The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. Any documents filed by us with the SEC, including this Annual Report, can be downloaded from the SEC's website. Our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, including this Annual Report, are available free of charge through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports and other information are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report and does not constitute a part of this Annual Report.

Our principal executive offices are located at 2445 Technology Forest Blvd., Level 6, The Woodlands, Texas 77381, and our telephone number is (832) 813-7100. Our website is at www.excelerateenergy.com.