LNG

New Fortress Energy said that after successfully producing LNG at its first floating LNG production unit offshore Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico the firm has now closed a $700 million loan for its second FLNG unit.

“Now operational, FLNG 1 expects to deliver its first cargo in August and enter full production thereafter,” said NFE.

The new loan will fully fund the construction of the FLNG II units,” added NFE.

This project will be developed in partnership with the Mexican state agency, the Federal Electricity Commission.

It will “utilize the extensive in-place terminal infrastructure onshore” in Altamira.

The new liquefaction unit will incorporate the same proprietary modular technology as the first Mexican project, from Atlanta-based Chart Industries.

This second Mexican project is scheduled to complete the construction phase in the first half of 2026.

“Our FLNG complex is advancing at a rapid pace as we have now produced LNG at our first unit, and fully financed our second,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFE.

Project values

“These are large infrastructure projects that add considerable financial and operational value to our company and we are thrilled with the progress to date,” stated Edens.

NFE’s “Fast LNG” project comprises modular, midsize liquefaction technology with jack-up rigs to enable lower costs

The company’s other main assets comprise two LNG import terminals in Brazil, one at Santa Catarina in the south and a second at Barcarena in the state of Pará in the far northeast of Brazil.

QatarEnergy, the leading liquefied natural gas supplier, signed a long-term supply agreement with a Singapore subsidiary of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co for one of its other main products from natural gas production in the Arabian Gulf that is now expanding with the North Field LNG projects.

Jan 29 (LNGJ) - New Fortress Energy Inc., the New York-based developer of liquefied natural gas import and export projects, said that US Customs and Border Protection had issued a ruling confirming that the transportation of LNG produced at the company’s FLNG facility located offshore Altamira in Mexican waters by non-US qualified vessels would not violate the Jones Act. The Jones Act is legislation passed back in 1920 that requires goods moved between US ports to be carried by US-flagged ships.

   As a result of this ruling, NFE said it would now be able to sell and deliver LNG produced at its FLNG Altamira facility to US locations, including Puerto Rico, described by the company as a key downstream market. “We are extremely pleased to receive this ruling for our FLNG facility since it not only supports one of the company’s largest projects but also supports the people of Puerto Rico,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFE. The US Government last issued a waiver of the Jones Act shipping rules to help the US territory of Puerto Rico attract LNG shipments amid a tight market and high prices after a 2022 hurricane.

Oct 11 (LNGJ) - QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies signed two long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements for the supply of up to 3.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Qatar to France. The volumes will be supplied on a delivered basis to the Fos Cavaou receiving terminal located east of Marseilles in the south of France. Deliveries are expected to start in 2026 for a term of 27 years.

   The LNG volumes will be sourced from the two joint ventures between QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies that hold stakes in Qatar’s North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) expansions. The supply deals were signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy and his TotalEnergies counterpart Patrick Pouyanné.

New Fortress Energy, the US developer of floating LNG production and import terminal and power projects, reported higher first-quarter revenues as “Fast LNG” projects advance along with regasification and power ventures in Brazil and Ireland.

The New York-based firm’s revenues jumped to $579.1M from $505.1M in the same three months of 2022 and were also up from the $546.4M logged in the previous quarter.

However, NFE’s net income dropped to $151.6M from $241.2M in the same three months of 2022.

The company explained that the construction of its first “Fast LNG” unit was 90 percent complete and deployment to Altamira on the Gulf Coast of Mexico was expected in the months ahead. 

NFE’s “Fast LNG” pairs modular, midsize liquefaction technology with jack-up rigs or similar floating infrastructure to enable lower-cost and faster deployment schedules.

“We expect to complete commissioning of our first ‘Fast LNG’ unit in the shipyard and on-location at the Altamira site and continue to anticipate first gas in July 2023,” said NFE.

The company noted that its FLNG 2 and FLNG 3 were already under construction and all long-lead items have been procured.

Brazil projects

NFE has also completed the Barcarena import terminal in Brazil and expects first gas deliveries to industrial customer Norsk Hydro in late 2023.

“We remain on schedule and also in 2023 expect to commence operations at our Santa Catarina terminal in Brazil,” NFE added.

NFE explained that construction of the 630 megawatts power plant at Barcarena is underway pursuant to a fixed-price, date-certain engineering, procurement and construction contract with Mitsubishi and Toyo Setal of Japan.

Operations at the plant are expected to commence in July 2025 pursuant to 25-year power purchase agreement with Brazilian distribution companies.

NFE is also selling a power plant in Mexico and was finalizing the sale of the 135-MW La Paz facility to Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad for around $180M. The transaction was expected to close in the third quarter.

The US company has also been awarded a 353 MW of capacity contract with a 10-year duration from the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO), the operator of the Republic of Ireland's electric grid.

NFE is also expecting to finalize a permitting and construction contract for a 600 MW combined-cycle, gas-fired power plant beginning operations in 2026 and to be supplied by a proposed Shannon LNG terminal project in Ballylongford in County Kerry, southwest Ireland.

Chiyoda Corp, the leading Japanese energy and LNG engineering company involved in projects worldwide, has announced that it will merge three group companies as part of a corporate overhaul and a re-organization of executives.

The company will merge Chiyoda Kosho Co., Chiyoda System Technologies and Chiyoda TechnoAce Co., to establish a company called Chiyoda X-ONE Engineering Corp.

Chiyoda is currently working on LNG engineering, procurement and construction projects in Qatar, the US and Nigeria.

The company is also executing the EPC phase of the North Field East LNG project, which is the expansion of four LNG Trains with capacity of 8 million metric tonnes per annum.

In the US, the main EPC focus of the company is the Golden Pass LNG project being developed by QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil.

Core business

The new “Chiyoda X-ONE Engineering Corp.” will be based at its Koyasu Office and Research Park in Yokohama as of 1 April 2023.

Chiyoda said that the name of the new company includes “Engineering” as its core business and “X-ONE” in reference to the combination of Transformation (X) by “One Team” .

Following the merger, Chiyoda Kosho Co. will operate as the company's “Energy, Environment & Maintenance Business Division”, Chiyoda System Technologies Corp. will function as its “Instrumentation & Electrical Solutions Business Division” and Chiyoda TechnoAce Co. Ltd will operate as its “Life Science Business Division”.

“The company is committed to optimizing the technological capabilities, experience and track record accumulated by the three organizations to progress as a sustainable leading integrated engineering contractor,’ said Chiyoda.

Chiyoda X-ONE Engineering Corp. will be under President Taku Ito, while a Chief Executive will be appointed to the new entity.

“Prior to the merger, Chiyoda will reorganize its plant operation and maintenance solution and digital transformation business organizational functions to launch a new ‘O&M Transformation Solution Business Department’ as of 1 January 2023,’ explained Chiyoda.

“Chiyoda will collaborate with the company, other Group companies and business partners in implementing its growth strategy in the new business portfolio innovations of life science, next-generation power systems, carbon neutrality and plant operation and maintenance solutions, as well as traditional energy sectors,” stated Chiyoda.

“While continuing to contribute to resolving society’s challenges, Chiyoda is proactively responding to changes in the business environment and aiming to strengthen as a consolidated group,” it added.

Dec 13 (LNGJ) - New Fortress Energy, the New York-based LNG projects developer, said it expected the business to generate more than $11 billion of additional liquidity over the next three years and more cash would be returned to shareholders.

   “Our business is now generating significant, stable, and growing cash, which we believe affords us the ability to both retain capital necessary to grow and return excess capital to shareholders in the form of meaningful dividends,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFE. “We are fortunate to have a strong balance sheet and the liquidity we believe is necessary to execute our strategy and achieve our goals, matching long-term LNG supply with long-term power demand around the world,” added Edens, who also cited investments in floating LNG facilities.

US major ConocoPhillips and QatarEnergy will combine to provide 2 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Germany’s new onshore import terminal under development at Brunsbüttel on the Elbe River.

New Fortress Energy, the US LNG production and import projects developer, reported a jump in revenues and a swing to profits in the third quarter while forecasting bumper earnings from floating LNG production projects.

QatarEnergy selected ConocoPhillips as its third and final international partner in the North Field South (NFS) expansion project comprising two LNG mega-Trains with a combined capacity of 16 million tonnes per annum and said free markets in energy were the best ways forward.