The start of liquefaction operations at New Fortress Energy’s initial 1.4 million tons per annum (mtpa) Fast LNG installation, FLNG 1, is said to establish the asset as “the fastest large-scale LNG project ever developed,” which is expected to assist in creating a new FLNG hub off the east coast of Mexico.

This development has been brought to life in partnership with CFE, Mexico’s state-owned electric utility, using NFE’s proprietary Fast LNG design, pairing the advancements in modular liquefaction technology with jack-up rigs or similar offshore infrastructure to enable a faster deployment schedule than traditional liquefaction facilities.

Chris Guinta, Chief Financial Officer of New Fortress Energy, commented: “We are immensely 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. In doing so, our downstream customers now benefit from additional access to clean and reliable LNG, enabling sustained growth well into the future.”

Once Pioneer II, the liquefaction rig tasked with chilling and converting clean natural gas into LNG, arrived in October 2023 at its final destination in Altamira to join the other two rigs that comprise FLNG 1, the U.S. firm achieved its first gas the following month. In mid-June 2024, the company targeted the first LNG in ten days and the delivery of its first cargo in July.

The project, which entails the deployment of Fast LNG liquefaction infrastructure to help expand the natural gas supply to Baja California Sur, will liquefy gas supplied by the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline. With a production capacity of approximately 70 TBtus, FLNG is perceived to complete the vertical integration of NFE’s LNG portfolio.

The export permit for the Altamira Fast LNG facility from Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (SENER) enables the U.S. company to export up to 7.8 million metric tons through April 2028, following the authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for export of United States-sourced LNG to Mexico and other FTA countries.

New Fortress Energy, which intends to deploy multiple FLNG units of 1.4 mtpa, explains that the project adds more than $2 billion of infrastructure to its asset base, bolstering its operational capabilities, financial flexibility, and credit profile. Given all these reasons, the project is anticipated to play a pivotal role in supplying low-cost, clean LNG to the U.S. firm’s downstream terminal customers.

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