New Fortress Energy Attains First LNG for Mexican Offshore Asset

New Fortress Energy (NFE) achieved first LNG for the initial Fast LNG (FLNG) asset offshore Altamira, Mexico. The FLNG design uses modular liquefaction technology on jack-up rigs and related offshore infrastructure, enabling faster deployment schedules compared to traditional liquefaction facilities.

"We are proud of the dedication and hard work by our team, who have completed more than 9 million work hours to bring this large-scale project to life at a record pace,” said Chris Guinta, Chief Financial Officer of NFE. “In doing so, our downstream customers now benefit from additional access to clean and reliable LNG, enabling sustained growth well into the future.”

With a 1.4 MTPA production capacity—approximately 70 TBtus—FLNG closes the vertical integration of NFE’s LNG portfolio. The asset will NFE in supplying low-cost, clean LNG for downstream terminal customers, adding more than $2 billion of infrastructure and improving the operational capability of NFE’s asset base.

Rendering of FLNG in Altamira, Mexico; Image Credits: New Fortress Energy

“First LNG represents a transformative moment for our company, and the industry as a whole, and reaffirms our position as a fully integrated member of the global LNG market,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of New Fortress Energy.

In early July, NFE signed a definitive agreement with a U.S. middle-market infrastructure fund to sell its small-scale liquefaction and storage facility in Miami, FL, which is expected to close in Q3 2024.

The Miami facility has one liquefaction train capable of producing 8,300 MMBtu of LNG per day and three LNG storage tanks with an approximate total capacity of 1,000 m³. It also contains two separate LNG transfer areas for truck and rail service and is authorized to export up to 60,000 tons per year of LNG to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and non-FTA countries for a 20-year term. The LNG export term began on February 5, 2016.

In mid-April, NFE signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with Mitsubishi Power Americas and Andrade Gutierrez (MHI/AG) for a planned 1.6 GW power plant near the Barcarena LNG terminal. NFE issued a full notice to proceed to the MHI/AG consortium for the beginning of construction work under the EPC contract. The plant will provide power capacity according to a 15-year capacity reserve contract closed in March 2024, which NFE purchased from Denham Capital and CEIBA Energy.

In March 2024, NFE’s Terminal Gas Sul (TGS) entered operation in Santa Catarina, Brazil, along with Energos’ Winter floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) onsite. TGS is an offshore LNG import terminal with an approximate capacity of 6 MTPA (300 TBtu) and a maximum gas send out of 500 mmscf/day.

In addition to the Energos Winter FSRU, the terminal also includes a 33 km, 20-inch pipeline which connects the facility to the inland Brasileira Gasoduto Bolivia-Brasil pipeline. The terminal is connected via pipeline to the Brazilian gas market, including more than 3.5 GW of power that does not have long-term gas supply contracts. TGS is also connected to more than 300 TBtu of industrial and residential gas consumers in southern Brazil.

With power and gas demands set to increase while Bolivia’s gas supply has declined, the TGS terminal serves as essential infrastructure for the Brazilian market. TGS will allow NFE to meet the region’s power and gas requirements.