Excelerate Energy, Inc. Class A (EE) Risk Analysis

Our operations are affected by extensive and changing international treaties and conventions as well as national and local environmental protection, health, safety and maritime conduct laws and regulations, including those in force in international waters, the jurisdictional waters of the countries in which our vessels operate, the onshore territories in which our facilities are located, and Belgium and the Marshall Islands where our vessels are registered. These include rules governing response to and liability for oil spills, discharges to air and water, maritime transport of certain materials, discharge of ballast water and the handling and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. In addition, our vessels are subject to safety and other obligations under law and the requirements of the classification societies that certify our vessels relating to safety and seaworthiness. The operation of our vessels is affected by the requirements set forth in the International Safety Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the "ISM Code"). The ISM Code requires shipowners, ship managers and bareboat charterers to develop and maintain an extensive "Safety Management System" that includes the adoption of a safety and environmental protection policy setting forth instructions and procedures for safe operation and describing procedures for dealing with emergencies. If we fail to comply with the ISM Code, we may be subject to increased liability, our existing insurance coverage for our affected vessels may be invalidated or the availability of insurance coverage may decrease, and such issues may result in a denial of access to, or detention in, certain ports. Compliance with and limitations imposed by these laws, regulations, treaties, conventions, and other requirements, and any future additions or changes to such laws or requirements, may increase our costs or limit our operations and have an adverse effect on our business. Failure to comply can result in administrative and civil penalties, criminal sanctions or the suspension or termination of our operations, including, in certain instances, seizure or detention of our vessels. In addition, these requirements can affect the resale value or useful lives of our vessels, require a reduction in cargo capacity, necessitate ship modifications or operations changes or lead to decreased availability of insurance coverage for environmental matters. The heightened environmental, quality and security concerns of insurance underwriters, regulators and charterers may generally lead to additional regulatory requirements, including enhanced risk assessment and security requirements, as well as greater inspection and safety requirements on all LNGCs in the marine transportation market. These requirements are likely to add incremental costs to our operations, and the failure to comply with these requirements may affect the ability of our ships to obtain and, possibly, recover from, insurance policies or to obtain the required certificates for entry into the different ports where we operate. Some environmental laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 ("OPA"), provide for potentially unlimited joint, several and strict liability for owners, operators and demise or bareboat charterers for oil pollution and related damages. OPA applies to discharges of any oil from a ship in U.S. waters, including discharges of fuel and lubricants from an LNGC, even if the ships do not carry oil as cargo. In addition, many states in the United States bordering a navigable waterway have enacted legislation providing for potentially unlimited strict liability without regard to fault for the discharge of pollutants within their waters. We also are subject to other laws outside the United States and international conventions that provide for an owner or operator of LNGCs to bear strict liability for pollution.

We are subject to anti-corruption laws and regulations worldwide, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), which generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business or other benefits. Some of the jurisdictions in which we currently, or may in the future, operate may present heightened risks for corruption. Although we have adopted policies and procedures that are designed to ensure that we, our employees and other intermediaries comply with applicable anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA, it is highly challenging to adopt policies and procedures that ensure compliance in all respects with such laws, particularly in high-risk jurisdictions. Developing and implementing policies and procedures is a complex endeavor, and detecting, investigating, and resolving actual or alleged violations is expensive and could consume significant time and attention of our senior management. There is no assurance that these policies and procedures will work effectively all of the time or protect us against liability under anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the FCPA, for actions taken by our employees and other intermediaries with respect to our business or any businesses that we may acquire. If we are not in compliance with anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the FCPA, we may be subject to costly and intrusive criminal and civil investigations as well significant potential criminal and civil penalties and other remedial measures, including changes or enhancements to our procedures, policies and control, as well as potential personnel change and disciplinary actions. In addition, non-compliance with anti-corruption laws could constitute a breach of certain covenants in operational or debt agreements, and cross-default provisions in certain of our agreements could mean that an event of default under certain of our commercial agreements could trigger an event of default under our other agreements, including our debt agreements. Any adverse finding against us could also negatively affect our relationship with current and potential customers as well as our reputation generally.

Under the U.S. federal partnership audit rules, subject to certain exceptions, audit adjustments to items of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit of an entity (and any holder's share thereof) are determined, and taxes, interest, and penalties attributable thereto, are assessed and collected, at the entity level. EELP (or any of its applicable subsidiaries or other entities in which EELP directly or indirectly invests that are treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes) may be required to pay additional taxes, interest and penalties as a result of an audit adjustment, and we, as a partner of EELP (or such other entities), could be required to indirectly bear the economic burden of those taxes, interest, and penalties even though we may not otherwise have been required to pay additional corporate-level taxes as a result of the related audit adjustment. Audit adjustments for state or local tax purposes could similarly result in EELP (or any of its applicable subsidiaries or other entities in which EELP directly or indirectly invests) being required to pay or indirectly bear the economic burden of state or local taxes and associated interest, and penalties. Under certain circumstances, EELP or an entity in which EELP directly or indirectly invests may be eligible to make an election to cause partners of EELP (or such other entity) to take into account the amount of any understatement, including any interest and penalties, in accordance with such partner's share in EELP in the year under audit. We will decide whether or not to cause EELP to make this election; however, there are circumstances in which the election may not be available and, in the case of an entity in which EELP directly or indirectly invests, such decision may be outside of our control. If EELP or an entity in which EELP directly or indirectly invests does not make this election, the then-current partners of EELP could economically bear the burden of the understatement.

Due to concern over the risk of climate change, a number of countries and the IMO have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory frameworks to reduce GHG emissions from vessels. These regulatory measures may include, among others, adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, increased efficiency standards and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. Although the emissions of greenhouse gases from international shipping currently are not subject to the international treaty on climate change known as the Paris Agreement, a new treaty or IMO regulations may be adopted in the future that includes restrictions on shipping emissions. In 2016, the IMO reaffirmed its strong commitment to continue to work to address GHG emissions from ships engaged in international trade. After adopting the 2018 IMO GHG Strategy, the IMO adopted a revised strategy in July 2023 (the "2023 IMO GHG Strategy"). The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy calls for a goal of net zero emissions from international shipping by 2050, an increase in ambition compared to a goal of a 50% reduction in the 2018 GHG Strategy. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy includes indicative checkpoints set at reducing GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 20% (with a stretch goal of 30%) by 2030, compared to 2008 levels, and by at least 70% (with a stretch goal of 80%) by 2040. The 2023 IMO GHG Strategy also sets a target of at least 5% (with a stretch goal of 10%) uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies, fuels and/or energy sources by 2030. Consistent with these goals, the IMO's MEPC agreed upon draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that would establish an enforceable regulatory framework to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping, consisting of technical and operational carbon reduction measures, including use of an EEXI, an operational CII and an enhanced Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan. These amendments were formally adopted at the 2021 MEPC session and entered into force on January 1, 2023. Such legislation or regulations have required and may in the future require additional capital expenditures or operating expenses, such as increased costs for low-sulfur fuel needed to meet IMO 2020 requirements, for us to maintain our vessels' compliance with international and/or national regulations. In October 2024 at MEPC 82, the IMO's MEPC agreed to further consider a series of challenges and gaps in the Short-term GHG Measure to achieve the levels of ambition of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy. The MEPC also agreed to a working draft set of MARPOL Annex VI amendments using the IMO Net-Zero Framework, to achieve the ambitions set out in the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. MEPC is anticipated to adopt these and other important measures at its meetings in April 2025. In addition, in September 2021, a group of over 150 companies, including shipping companies, oil companies and port authorities, called on regulators to require the shipping industry to be fully decarbonized by 2050. In December 2023, CEOs of global shipping companies issued a joint declaration at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ("COP28") calling for maritime decarbonization and urging the IMO to expedite the transition away from fossil fuels. In November 2024, at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ("COP29"), over 50 leaders from within the shipping value chain signed a Call to Action, calling for decarbonization in the shipping industry by accelerating the adoption of zero-emission fuels. The European Union has indicated it intends to implement regulations to limit emissions of greenhouse gases from vessels if such emissions are not regulated through the IMO and, in September 2020, the European Parliament approved draft legislation that would put in place measures to address GHG emissions from shipping. Further, on July 14, 2021, the European Commission adopted a series of legislative proposals on how it intends to achieve climate neutrality in the European Union by 2050 (Fit for 55 Package). Beginning January 1, 2024, the EU ETS applies to cargo and passenger ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above and requires ship operators to pay for the GHG emissions during their voyages to, from and between EU ports. This regulation will be applicable to our entire fleet, although it will impact only ships that will operate in the EU. There is also an initiative to increase the demand and deployment of renewable alternative transport fuels, and a proposal to review the Energy Taxation Directive with regard to the current exemption of fuel used by ships from taxation. Compliance with changes in laws and regulations relating to climate change could increase our costs of operating and maintaining our vessels and could require us to make significant financial expenditures that we cannot predict with certainty at this time. Further, our business may be adversely affected to the extent that climate change results in sea level changes or more intense weather events. Laws and regulations inside and outside the United States relating to climate change affecting the LNG and natural gas industry, including the use of natural gas to generate electricity, growing public concern about the environmental impact of climate change, and broader, economy-wide legislative initiatives to reduce or phase out the use of fossil fuels could adversely affect our business. For example, laws, regulations and other initiatives to shift electricity generation away from fossil fuels to renewable sources over time are at various stages of implementation and consideration and may continue to be adopted in the future in the markets in which we operate. Although it is our expectation that these efforts may reduce global demand for natural gas and increase demand for alternative energy sources in the long term, these changes may occur on a more accelerated basis than we currently project. According to COP29, its central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by limiting a global temperature rise this century to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels and net zero by 2050. The United States and European Union have set themselves 2050 climate neutrality goals, while emerging countries like China and India are aiming for 2060 and 2070, respectively. Any long-term material adverse effects on the LNG and natural gas industry as a result of climate change and energy transition objectives could have a significant, adverse financial and operational impact on our business that we cannot predict with certainty at this time.

When we develop large scale projects, our required capital expenditure may be significant, and we typically do not generate meaningful revenues from customers until the project has commenced commercial operations, which may take a year or more to achieve. While we plan our projects carefully and attempt to complete them according to timelines and budgets that we believe are feasible, we have occasionally experienced time delays and cost overruns in certain projects that we have developed previously and may experience similar issues with future projects given the inherent complexity and unpredictability of project development. For example, there can be no assurance that we will not need to make adjustments to our regasification terminals and other facilities as a result of the required testing or commissioning of each project, which could cause delays and be costly. We may also decide to delay, postpone or discontinue a project in order to prioritize a different project than we originally planned. Expenses with respect to such projects may be significant and will be incurred by us regardless of whether these assets are ultimately constructed and operational. A primary focus of our business is the development of projects in foreign jurisdictions, including jurisdictions where we may not have significant experience, and these risks are often increased in such jurisdictions where legal processes, language differences, cultural expectations, currency exchange requirements, political relations with the U.S. government, changes in administrations, new regulations, regulatory reviews, employment laws and diligence requirements can make it more difficult, time-consuming and expensive to develop a project. If a project is not successfully developed for any reason, we face the risk of not recovering some or all of our invested capital, and our business, operating results, cash flows and liquidity could be materially and adversely affected. We have not yet entered into binding construction contracts, received a "final notice to proceed" or obtained all necessary environmental, regulatory, construction and zoning permissions for all of our planned regasification terminals and other facilities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into the contracts required for the development of these regasification terminals and other facilities on commercially favorable terms, if at all, or that we will be able to obtain all of the environmental, regulatory, construction and zoning permissions we need. If we are unable to enter into favorable contracts or to obtain the necessary regulatory and land use approvals on favorable terms, we may not be able to construct and operate these assets as expected, or at all. Timely and cost-effective completion of our energy-related infrastructure in compliance with agreed specifications is highly dependent on the performance of our primary engineer, procedure and construct ("EPC") contractor and our other contractors under our agreements with them. The ability of our primary EPC contractor and our other contractors to perform successfully under their agreements with us is dependent on a number of factors outside of our control. Until and unless we have entered into an EPC contract for a particular project in which the EPC contractor agrees to meet our planned schedule and projected total costs for a project, we are subject to potential fluctuations in construction costs and other related project costs. If any contractor is unable or unwilling to perform according to the negotiated terms and timetable of its respective agreement for any reason or terminates its agreement for any reason, or if we have disagreements with our contractors about elements of the construction process, we would be required to engage a substitute contractor, which could be particularly difficult in certain of the markets in which we plan to operate, or our projects may be delayed and we may face contractual consequences in our agreements with our customers. Although some agreements may provide for liquidated damages in such circumstances, any liquidated damages that we receive may be delayed or insufficient to cover the damages that we suffer as a result of any such delay or impairment, and we expect such liquidated damages to be subject to caps on liability.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the contributions of certain key management personnel, including, but not limited to, Steven Kobos, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kobos does not have an employment agreement with us, and there is no guarantee that he will remain employed by us. Our ability to retain our key management personnel or to attract suitable replacements should any members of our management team leave is dependent on the competitive nature of the employment market. The loss of services from key management personnel or a limitation in their availability could materially and adversely impact our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Further, such a loss could be negatively perceived in the capital markets. We have not obtained key man life insurance that would provide us with proceeds in the event of the death or disability of any of our key management personnel. Experienced employees in the LNG industry are fundamental to our ability to generate, obtain and manage opportunities and are also highly sought after. Failure to attract and retain such personnel or to ensure that their experience and knowledge is not lost when they leave the business through retirement, redundancy or otherwise may adversely affect the standards of our service and may have an adverse impact on our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

For some of our future contractual commitments and proposed development projects, we will depend upon third-party liquefaction facilities, seaborne transportation, pipelines, power plants and other facilities that provide gas receipt and delivery in conjunction with integrated terminals. If the construction of new or modified natural gas export terminals, pipeline connections, power plants or other facilities is not completed on schedule or any facilities that we intend to rely on to fulfill our contractual obligations were to become unavailable due to repairs, damage to the facility, lack of capacity, delays in government approvals or permitting or any other reason, our ability to meet our obligations could be restricted, thereby reducing our revenues which could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

Under GSAs, SPAs, and LNG supply obligations with current and future customers, we are or will be required to deliver to our customers agreed upon amounts of LNG and/or regasified LNG at stated times and within certain specifications, which requires us to obtain sufficient amounts of LNG. To satisfy these obligations, we have entered into a mix of short and long-term LNG purchase agreements. When those purchases and subsequent sales of LNG and/or regasified LNG to customers are not balanced, we have faced and will face exposure to commodity price risks and could have increased volatility in our operating income. If any of our suppliers fail to deliver contracted LNG volumes or we are not able to supplement our supply with additional short-term purchase agreements, we may not be able to receive physical delivery of sufficient quantities of LNG to satisfy our delivery obligations, which may provide customers with the right to terminate their respective contracts with us and/or to seek damages. In addition, if we sell LNG or regasified LNG into market areas based on market-area indices that are different from the index upon which we purchased LNG, we may be exposed to the differences in the values of the respective indices. In certain forward sale or purchase arrangements, we could be required to recognize mark-to-market adjustments in our operating income. Changes in the index prices relative to each other, also referred to as basis spread, can significantly affect our margins or even result in losses. LNG price fluctuations may make it expensive or uneconomic for us to acquire short-term supply to meet our gas delivery obligations under our GSAs or LNG sales agreements. Higher natural gas, LNG, or crude oil prices could enhance the risk of nonpayment by customers who are not able to pass the higher costs to their customers. For example, our purchases of LNG under our long-term purchase agreement will be FOB, but our sales to customers may be as Delivery ex-Ship or as regasified LNG, exposing us to the foregoing shipping and regasification risks. Because the factors affecting the supply and demand of LNG are outside of our control and are unpredictable, the nature, timing, direction and degree of changes in industry conditions are also unpredictable. In addition, initiatives to reduce GHG emissions and other future legislation and regulations, such as those relating to the transportation and security of LNG, or increased use of other energy sources such as solar and wind, could affect the long-term demand for LNG or regasified LNG. Our long-term LNG purchase agreements commit us to purchase certain volumes regardless of the demand for LNG or regasified LNG. A reduction in demand could materially adversely affect our financial condition and operating results. To reduce our exposure to fluctuations in the price, volume and timing risk associated with the purchase of LNG and sale of natural gas, we have entered and may in the future enter into futures, swaps and option contracts traded or cleared on the Intercontinental Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange or over-the-counter options and swaps with other energy commodity merchants and financial institutions. Hedging arrangements would expose us to risk of financial loss in some circumstances, including when expected supply is less than the amount hedged, the counterparty to the hedging contract defaults on its contractual obligations or there is a change in the expected differential between the underlying price in the hedging agreement and actual prices received. The use of derivatives also may require the posting of cash collateral with counterparties, which can impact working capital when commodity prices change. Failure to properly hedge any positions that we may have from time to time against changes in natural gas prices could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Over the past several years, changing weather patterns and climatic conditions, such as global warming, have added to the unpredictability and frequency of natural disasters in certain parts of the world, including the markets in which we operate and intend to operate, and have created additional uncertainty as to future trends. We cannot predict whether or to what extent damage that may be caused by natural events, such as severe tropical storms or cyclones will affect our operations or the economies in our current or future market areas, but the increased frequency and severity of such weather events could increase the negative impacts to economic conditions in these regions and result in a decline in the value or the destruction of regasification terminals and downstream facilities or affect our ability to import LNG or sell natural gas. In particular, if one of the regions in which our facilities are operating or under development is impacted by such a natural catastrophe in the future, it could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, the economies of such impacted areas may require significant time to recover and there is no assurance that a full recovery will occur. Weather events such as storms and collateral effects, or other disasters such as explosions, fires, seismic events, floods or accidents, could result in damage to our facilities, including at our regasification terminals and other facilities, interruption of our operations or our supply chain and delays or cost increases in the construction and the development of our planned facilities and higher repair and maintenance costs. Effects of changes in the global climate, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods and rising sea levels could have an adverse effect on our marine and coastal operations.

Our business and the development of energy-related infrastructure and projects generally is based on assumptions about the future availability and price of natural gas, LNG, and crude oil and the prospects for international and domestic natural gas and LNG markets. Natural gas, LNG, and crude oil prices and demand for and price of LNG regasification capacity have at various times been and may become volatile due to one or more of the following factors: - additions to competitive regasification capacity;- changes in import and export policies, including trade restrictions, new or increased tariffs or quotas, embargoes, sanctions and countersanctions, safeguards or customs restrictions;- insufficient or oversupply of natural gas liquefaction or export capacity worldwide;- insufficient LNG tanker capacity;- weather conditions and natural disasters;- reduced demand and lower prices for natural gas over an extended period;- higher LNG prices, which could make other fuels more competitive in the markets where we operate;- inflationary pressures;- increased natural gas production deliverable by pipelines in the markets where we operate, which could suppress demand for LNG;- decreased crude oil and natural gas exploration activities, including shut-ins and possible proration, which have begun and may continue to decrease the production of natural gas available for liquefaction;- cost improvements that allow competitors to offer LNG regasification services at reduced prices;- changes in supplies of, and prices for, alternative energy sources, such as coal, crude oil, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar energy, which may reduce the demand for natural gas;- changes in regulatory, tax or other governmental policies regarding imported or exported LNG, natural gas or alternative energy sources, which may reduce the demand for imported LNG or natural gas in the markets where we operate;- political conditions;- adverse relative demand for LNG compared to other markets;- changes in economic conditions of countries where we operate or purchase or sell LNG and natural gas; and - cyclical trends in general business and economic conditions that cause changes in the demand for natural gas. Adverse trends or developments affecting any of these factors, including the timing of the impact of these factors in relation to our purchases and sales of natural gas and LNG, could result in increases in prices for natural gas or LNG or result in mark-to-market gains or losses based on the value of our LNG inventory or contractual commitments. During 2023 and 2022, we recorded lower of cost or net realizable value write-downs on our LNG inventory. In addition, cyclical increased pricing of LNG has at times discouraged our customers, especially those in developing economies, from making spot purchases of LNG. Periods of higher LNG prices may also discourage potential customers from agreeing to new LNG projects in favor of other energy sources. As an example of these factors, on February 1, 2025, the U.S. President announced a 25% tariff on product imports from certain countries, including Mexico and Canada, and a 10% tariff on product imports from certain countries, including China. Although certain of these tariffs have been paused, these actions are expected to result in retaliatory measures on U.S. goods. If maintained, the newly announced tariffs and the potential escalation of trade disputes could increase the volatility of the price of LNG and natural gas. The extent and duration of the tariffs and the resulting impact on general economic conditions and on our business are uncertain and depend on various factors, such as negotiations between the United States and affected countries, the responses of other countries or regions, exemptions or exclusions that may be granted, availability and cost of alternative sources of supply, and demand for our products in affected markets. Furthermore, actions we take to adapt to new tariffs or trade restrictions may cause us to modify our operations or forgo business opportunities.