New Fortress Energy inks FSRU charter agreement with Petrobras

November 6, 2023, by Aida Čučuk

U.S. energy company New Fortress Energy (NFE) has executed a definitive agreement to charter the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Energos Winter from Brazilian state-owned oil and gas giant Petrobras starting in December 2023.

Illustration only; Courtesy of New Fortress Energy

According to NFE, the FSRU will be deployed to Terminal Gas Sul (TGS), NFE’s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, which will start commercial operations ahead of schedule in January 2024.

NFE further revealed that the Energos Winter will be sub-chartered by NFE through the remaining term of the Petrobras charter with U.S.-based Energos infrastructure and then direct-chartered by NFE on a long-term basis with Energos. This is expected to enable NFE to commence commercial operations at TGS in January 2024 and continue uninterrupted service on a long-term basis. To note, Energos Infrastructure, the owner of the Energos Winter, is owned 80% by funds managed by Apollo and 20% by NFE.

Andrew Dete, Managing Director of NFE, commented: “We are extremely pleased to reach this agreement with Petrobras and begin operations at the TGS terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, ahead of schedule in January 2024. The TGS terminal is a unique, high-growth opportunity for NFE, as connection to the pipeline system in south Brazil offers a diverse and near-term set of opportunities across power and gas supply.”

In regard to NFE’s other recent LNG endeavours, in September 2023, the liquefaction rig Pioneer II set sail for Altamira, Mexico, to meet Pioneer I and Pioneer III. At the time, the company noted that the arrival of Pioneer II would mark the completion of all the rigs for its Fast LNG 1 Unit.

To remind, NFE and Mexican state-owned electric utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) are collaborating on the creation of the FLNG hub off the coast of Altamira. Pursuant to the finalized agreements, NFE will deploy multiple FLNG units of 1.4 MTPA each that utilize CFE’s existing firm pipeline transportation capacity on TC Energy’s Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Pipeline to deliver feedgas volumes to NFE.