U.S. energy company New Fortress Energy plans to load the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its floating facility in Mexico this month, to be shipped to another Mexican port for power generation, the company said on Friday.
CONTEXT
The LNG facility located in Altamira, off Mexico’s Atlantic Coast, is scheduled to conclude commissioning and its preproduction run on Aug. 9, after long delays for completing the necessary infrastructure, and begin natural gas processing.
The first cargo, to be carried by Marshall Islands-flagged LNG vessel Energos Princess, will be a partial load for delivery to NFE’s La Paz terminal in the following days, the company said.
NFE’s newly operational La Paz facility, in the port of Pichilingue in Baja California Sur, will supply natural gas to two power plants and other customers in Mexico.
After the first load, the floating LNG facility will undergo a scheduled maintenance outage of several days before resuming operations to reach full production later in August.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Mexico is a massive importer of U.S. natural gas and has regasification plants to import LNG. NFE’s 1.4 million-ton-per- year Altamira facility is the first built to export LNG, with feedgas coming from Mexico and the United States.
QUOTE
“Being able to supply our customers with our own LNG has been a goal for the company for many years,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of NFE, in a statment.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)