U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc KMI-N said it had sold half its stake in a liquefied natural gas facility in Georgia to an undisclosed buyer for about $565-million, and would use the funds to pay short-term debt and buy back shares.
The stake sale in the Elba Liquefaction Company (ELC) comes at a time when demand for U.S. LNG exports is booming as Europe loses access to Russian fuel.
“Recent geopolitical events have proven how critical (LNG) infrastructure is to meeting global energy demand,” said Kimberly Watson, Kinder Morgan’s Interstate Natural Gas President.
The ELC liquefaction facility is located in Elba Island in Chatham County and has a capacity to liquefy about 2.5 million tonnes of LNG per year for export from the U.S. East Coast.
After the sale, Kinder Morgan will hold a 25.5 per cent interest in ELC and continue to operate the facility. Private equity giant Blackstone Inc’s credit investment unit, Blackstone Credit, will continue to hold its 49 per cent stake it bought in May.
Shares of Houston-based Kinder Morgan were up 1.6 per cent in premarket trade amid broader gains in the U.S. energy sector.