Stolt-Nielsen announced the talks in a statement on Monday, but did not reveal the buyer’s name.
The company is selling the stake via its subsidiary Stolt-Nielsen Gas.
Stolt-Nielsen said the potential sale agreement is subject to final documentation and customary approvals, which are expected in the first quarter of 2026.
Should a formal agreement be reached, Stolt-Nielsen intends to jointly own and operate Avenir LNG as a joint venture, it said.
Avenir LNG is now fully owned by Stolt-Nielsen after the latter completed the purchase of Avenir LNG’s remaining shares last year.
Stolt-Nielsen launched an offer in March 2025 to buy Avenir LNG’s remaining shares after it bought stakes from Golar LNG and Hoegh family holding company Aequitas.
Seven vessels
Avenir LNG owns and operates a fleet of five modern small-scale LNG bunkering vessels, with two newbuildings under construction.
Last month, Avenir LNG completed financing for two LNG bunkering newbuilds.
In 2024, Avenir LNG ordered two 20,000-cbm LNG bunkering and supply vessels at China’s Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering.
CIMC SOE officially started building the 20,000-cbm vessel (Hull No. S1123) in July last year.
The ship (Hull No. S1123) is the first in this batch of two.
The vessel will serve Vitol under a charter deal for seven years with options to extend up to 10 years in total.
It will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026, while its sister vessel will be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
In October last year, Avenir signed a time charter party with SeaRiver Maritime, the marine transportation affiliate of ExxonMobil, for the second vessel in this batch.
With an overall length of 160 meters, a beam of 25 meters, and a design speed of 15.5 knots, the vessels feature a WinGD dual-fuel main engine equipped with iCER technology.
The newbuilding also features a new type C tank design, a lower boil-off rate, hull form optimization, and subcoolers.
