LNG

New Fortress Energy Inc., the New York-based LNG-for-power project company with LNG production plans offshore the United States and Africa, said that the US Coast Guard in coordination with the Maritime Administration had affirmed the completeness of NFE’s deepwater port license application.

NFE said that both US security and regulatory bodies would proceed with the preparation of an environmental impact statement as part of the environmental review within the 356-day application process.

NFE’s application proposes the ownership, construction, operation of an offshore natural gas export deepwater port, known as New Fortress Energy Louisiana FLNG.

The project will be located in Federal waters about 16 nautical miles off the southeast coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana in a water depth of 30 metres.

NFE said that the deepwater port would allow for the export of about 145 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year, equivalent to 2.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

“This is a significant step forward for our effort to build the first ‘Fast LNG’ facility in the United States,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and Chief Executive of NFE.

The NFE “Fast LNG” design pairs modular, midsize liquefaction technology with jack-up rigs or similar floating infrastructure.

While analysts note that NFE equipment would enable a much lower cost and faster deployment schedule than floating liquefaction vessels, the industry has still to be persuaded that the NFE technology will pass safety and operational tests.

Equipment

Under the NFE plan, a permanently moored floating storage unit (FSU) would serve as an LNG storage facility alongside the floating liquefaction infrastructure, which can be deployed anywhere where there is abundant and stranded natural gas.

“With rapid deployment, this project can help address the energy crisis in Europe and support our efforts to reduce energy poverty by providing more affordable, reliable and cleaner fuel to our growing portfolio of customers,” explained CEO Edens

Subject to the receipt of all required permits and approvals, NFE targets beginning operations offshore Louisiana in the first quarter of 2023.

NFE and Italian energy company Eni are also advancing a “Fast LNG” project in the Republic of Congo in West Africa.

The first African floating LNG joint venture would have capacity of over 3 million tonnes per annum once fully operational.

NFE is additionally continuing to advance LNG-for-power projects in nations like Mexico, Nicaragua and Brazil as well as in the Caribbean and in Sri Lanka in Asia.