New Fortress Energy Inc., the US LNG and power company that owns and operates facilities in five countries, has agreed to sell its small-scale liquefaction and storage facility in Miami in Florida.
The facility is being sold to a US middle-market infrastructure fund, which NFE declined to name along with the value of the transaction. NFE added that the transaction was expected to close in the third quarter of 2024 subject to customary terms and conditions.
The small-scale LNG liquefaction plant in Miami can process 100,000 gallons of natural gas every day for delivery to commercial, industrial and transportation customers throughout South Florida and the Caribbean.
The facility has three LNG storage tanks with a total capacity of around 1,000 cubic metres as well as two separate LNG transfer areas capable of serving both truck and rail.
Export permit
The facility is additionally authorized to export up to 60,000 tonnes per annum of LNG to Free Trade Agreement and Non-FTA countries for a 20-year term that began on February 5, 2016.
“The Miami Facility is the inaugural asset of NFE and we are proud to have built this best-in-class infrastructure,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFE, listed on the Nasdaq global exchange.
“The sale highlights our commitment and execution of our asset sale program, allowing us to reduce debt and recycle proceeds into high return downstream projects,” Edens added.
The Miami plant sale follows NFE’s decision in mid-June to push back the schedules for first LNG at its floating liquefaction plant offshore Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico. The first cargo is being shipped during July rather than June
Mexico cargoes
The FLNG production facility is located in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico offshore the port of Altamira where there is already an onshore LNG import terminal.
NFE said that the work necessary to begin operations was complete and the company had also completed the full remainder of pre-commissioning activities.
The FLNG facility has also received a positive ruling from the US Customs and Border Protection agency confirming that the transportation of LNG produced at NFE’s FLNG unit can transport cargoes on non-US Jones Act qualified vessels.
As a result of this ruling, NFE will be able to sell and deliver LNG produced at its FLNG facility offshore Mexico to US locations, including the territory of Puerto Rico.
The progress on FLNG in the Gulf of Mexico comes amid advances in import and power projects in the South American nation of Brazil.
NFE has now commenced operations in Brazil at both of its LNG import terminals and has 2.2 gigawatts of power plants under construction.
