New Fortress Energy, the New York-based developer of liquefied natural gas import and export projects, has confirmed it placed US-government power plants in Puerto Rico into service and confirmed the operational date for the floating LNG production facility offshore the Mexican port of Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The third and final rig of FLNG 1, ‘Pioneer II’, sailed away (Sept. 26) from the Kiewit shipyard in Ingleside, Texas,” said New Fortress.
“This rig will soon join the other two FLNG 1 rigs in Altamira for final installation and commissioning, with target commercial operation date (COD) in late October or early November,” the company stated.
NFE also announced that it had placed into service its second US government-sponsored power plant in Puerto Rico.
“This facility in San Juan has a capacity of 200+ megawatts of power generation and operates under a two-year contract, similar to the 150 MW facility in Palo Seco that entered service in June under the same program,” NFE explained.
Contracts
Both power installations operate under multi-year contracts with the US government, which pays for fuel, logistics and all power infrastructure.
The company said that it was “extremely pleased” to see the successful construction and installation of these two power plants in record time by the independently managed NFE subsidiary, Genera PR LLC.
“We believe these plants provide significant reliable and efficient power to the Puerto Rico power market, helping to ensure better grid reliability,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFE.
“NFE is at an inflection point as our core infrastructure projects enter service. The combination of the San Juan plant and the Palo Seco plant contribute significantly to downstream volumes and terminal earnings in Q4 2023,” Edens explained.
“Our projects are entering service after years of build-out, and we now look forward to cash generation, deleveraging and organic growth opportunities,” the CEO stated.
NFE is also on course to start LNG production and export operations in the weeks ahead, the first ever from Mexico, of the Altamira facility with capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per annum.
NFE’s “Fast LNG” pairs modular, midsize liquefaction technology with jack-up rigs to enable lower-cost and faster deployment schedules.
LNG hub
The US company and Mexico's state-owned power utility, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), have set up the LNG hub in Altamira in the GoM to convert Mexican natural gas into LNG for export.
Each of NFE’s three parts of the first “Fast LNG” project were completed at the Kiewit yard in Ingleside.
The company said that the first “FLNG 1” liquefaction operating facility is being deployed in Mexican waters at a cost of just $1.3 billion, far below the cost of other proposed projects.
The US firm received an export permit in June 2023 for the Altamira ‘Fast LNG’ facility from Mexico’s Ministry of Energy.
Under the permit, NFE is authorised to export up to 7.8MT of LNG through April 2028, providing ample capacity to support the operations of the planned 1.4 MTPA facility through the permitted period.
