US-listed New Fortress Energy has signed an early deal to supply one of its quick start-up floating LNG units to Italy’s Eni to develop gas reserves of the Republic of Congo.
New Fortress said it had inked a heads of agreement (HoA) with Eni subsidiary Eni Congo to deploy one of its “Fast LNG” units for a period of 20 years.
The US company, which is due to announce its quarterly results on Tuesday, said the Fast LNG facility will have the capacity to produce 1.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG from associated offshore gasfields.
New Fortress said the HoA provides a frame for negotiating a long-term tolling agreement between it and Eni for the full capacity of the facility
“It will also allow NFE to buy approximately 1.2m gallons of LNG per day on the back of a 20-year FOB [free-on-board] sales and purchase agreement,” the company said.
New Fortress said it expects to conclude definitive agreements by the end of March 2022 with production scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2023.
Under its Fast LNG concept, New Fortress is currently converting two jack-up rigs into FLNG units by fitting liquefaction modules to their decks at Kiewit Shipyard in the US in what it believes will be a quick start-up, low-cost solution to monetise gas reserves.
The US outfit, which is also converting a third jack-up into a gas treatment unit, has said it plans to put the first Fast LNG unit into operation by the end of 2022.
In December New Fortress said it had made an agreement with northwest African nation Mauritania to develop the country's offshore gas reserves under which it will deploy its 'Fast LNG' technology to produce LNG for local markets.
The company said today it is in “advanced discussions” for the deployment of this technology in several other markets around the world, including offshore in the US.
Unveiling the deal with Eni today, New Fortress chairman and chief executive Wes Edens said: “This landmark partnership is a major milestone for our Fast LNG business.
“With production beginning next year, we believe that this is just the first of many deployments of this game-changing technology around the world.”
Edens added: “Our portfolio of Fast LNG facilities allows us to deploy offshore infrastructure more quickly and affordably, adds low-cost LNG to our existing portfolio and diversifies our business.”
