LNG

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. 

New Fortress Energy, the New York-based developer of liquefied natural gas import and export projects, could begin production as early as October 2023 from a floating FLNG plant offshore the Mexican port of Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico.

NFE is on course to start LNG production and export operations in the weeks ahead, the first ever from Mexico, at a 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.

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.

Installations

The US company expects to complete and install the two remaining parts of the FLNG project this month and to immediately introduce gas and with a first cargo sold in October, according to a company presentation.

Each of NFE’s three parts of the first “Fast LNG” project have been completed at the Kiewit Offshore Services yard in Ingleside in Texas.

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.

NFE has yet to formally confirm when exactly the Altamira FLNG production plant will come on stream.

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 7.8 million tonnes of LNG through April 2028, providing ample capacity to support the operations of the planned 1.4 MTPA facility through the permitted period. 

Final piece of puzzle

“This permit is the final piece to the puzzle for launching our first ‘Fast LNG’ in Altamira,” Wes Edens, NFE Chairman and Chief Executive has said.

NFE is also completing two other LNG projects in the months ahead relating to LNG imports in the South American nation of Brazil.

The Barcarena LNG import terminal in the state of Pará is due for completion in December 2023 at a cost of $700M and in January 2024 a second Brazilian import terminal will open in Santa Catarina state in the south of Brazil.

Each of the Brazilian terminals will have import capacity of 3 MTPA to support local power projects.

NFE has said that the “Fast LNG” project at Altamira as well as two Brazilian import terminals and a power venture in Puerto Rico are part of a revenue spend of  $3.2Bln on infrastructure that will soon be “revenue producing” operations for the company.

June 2 (LNGJ) - New Fortress Energy Inc., the US developer of power and LNG export and import ventures, has received an export permit from Mexico’s Ministry of Energy for its Altamira “Fast LNG” facility proposed for the Gulf of Mexico.

   Under the permit, NFE said it was now authorised to export up to 7.8 million tonnes of LNG through April 2028, providing ample capacity to support the operations of the planned 1.4 MTPA facility through the permitted period. NFE has already received authorisation from the US Department of Energy to export US-sourced LNG to Mexico and other Free Trade Agreement countries. “This permit is the final piece to the puzzle for launching our first ‘Fast LNG’ in Altamira,” said Wes Edens, NFE Chairman and Chief Executive.