Video: NFE loads inaugural export cargo from Mexico FLNG

The first cargo load and sail operation has been achieved from the company’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit offshore Altamira in Mexico.

First production from the 1.4-mta facility was reported last month. The facility will play a key role in supplying low-cost LNG to downstream terminal customers.

In June 2023, New Fortress received an export permit that authorised the export of up to 7.8M tonnes through April 2028, providing ample capacity to support the operations.

The project has suffered delays; it was first expected to introduce first gas in September 2023, and to sell the inaugural cargo in October that year. The date was later pushed to December 2023. A minor accident aboard the FLNG in April meant maintenance work was needed after the unit’s cold box – the structure that protects the cryogenic equipment – suffered a pipe fracture just 72 hours before first LNG was due.

The first cargo has been loaded onto the gas carrier Energos Princess and will be delivered to the Pichilingue import terminal in La Paz on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

NFE has a supply agreement with Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad to provide LNG to the import terminal in southern Baja California.