JAX LNG capacity expansion progressing

The JAX LNG facility located along the St. John’s River in Jacksonville, Florida, is continuing the expansion of its capacity.

Pivotal LNG said in its statement on Thursday the facility will triple liquefaction to 360,000 gallons a day and double LNG storage to 4 million gallons.

The expansion is expected to be placed in service by early 2022 and will support a new long-term LNG supply agreement with a major maritime company for its dual-fueled ships, the statement reads.

JAX LNG began operations in 2018 and is a joint venture between Pivotal LNG, a BHE GT&S company, and NorthStar Midstream.

Global trends toward cleaner energy and new international maritime emissions regulations are driving demand for LNG. Following completion of the JAX LNG expansion, Pivotal’s network of LNG assets will reach a production capacity of over 470,000 gallons per day and a storage capacity of approximately 9 million gallons at its three facilities in Alabama, Florida, and Pennsylvania

Construction of the liquefaction expansion is underway, led by Salof.

For the storage expansion, JAX LNG is working with units of Matrix Service Company, a leading contractor to the energy and industrial markets and leader in small- to mid-size LNG liquefaction and storage terminals. Matrix completed the roof lift of the new 2 million gallon storage tank this past December, fulfilling a major construction milestone in the project.

The use of LNG as fuel allows maritime companies to move toward a cleaner energy future and comply with the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 emissions regulations. According to a study by SEA-LNG and the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel, LNG as a marine fuel can reduce greenhouse emissions up to 21 per cent compared to current oil-based marine fuels.

In 2019, NorthStar formed Polaris New Energy (Polaris), an LNG marine transportation company. Polaris is constructing a new 5400-cbm LNG bunker barge with Fincantieri Bay and an integrated tug with Master Boat Builders. When complete, this new articulated tug and barge unit (ATB) will deliver LNG to an existing major maritime customer and others along the East Coast.

“The shipyards building our tug and barge are making solid progress. The ATB Clean Canaveral will be in operation by the end of 2021,” said Tim Casey, senior vice president – LNG, NorthStar.

The Clean Canaveral will not only serve customers in the Jacksonville area, but will also have the ability to transit up and down the East Coast to serve customers in other ports. The ATB’s ocean-going capability will provide great flexibility in helping Polaris build out its business and serve customers’ needs.

The JAX LNG facility was the first small-scale waterside LNG production facility in the U.S. with both marine and truck loading capabilities. Since its 2018 commissioning, the facility has safely made over 150 deliveries to the LNG barge Clean Jacksonville through its integrated marine loading dock. This state-of-the-art facility was constructed through a joint venture between Pivotal and NorthStar.