US player puts LNG export facility in Florida up for sale to chip away at its debt tab

U.S. energy infrastructure player New Fortress Energy (NFE) has struck a deal with an undisclosed compatriot middle-market infrastructure fund to unload its liquefaction and storage facility in Miami, which is said to be Florida’s first privately owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and the first to export LNG from the continental United States to a non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) country.

While details about the definitive agreement between the two companies are scarce, with no financial information disclosed, the sale of New Fortress Energy’s Miami liquefaction and storage facility is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, subject to customary terms and conditions.

Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of New Fortress Energy, commented: “The Miami facility is the inaugural asset of NFE and we are proud to have built this best-in-class infrastructure. Today’s sale highlights our commitment and execution of our asset sale program, allowing us to reduce debt and recycle proceeds into high return downstream projects.”

With one liquefaction train capable of producing 8,300 MMBtu of LNG per day, this small-scale liquefaction facility has three LNG storage tanks with a total capacity of approximately 1,000 cubic meters as well as two separate LNG transfer areas capable of serving both truck and rail.

According to NFE, its Miami facility is authorized to export up to 60,000 tonnes per annum of LNG to FTA and non-FTA countries for a 20-year term, which started on February 5, 2016. The 100,000-gallon-per-day Miami liquefier, commissioned in 2015, is said to be optimally located to supply LNG to transportation, commercial, and industrial users in South Florida and the Caribbean.

The sale of this asset comes months after the U.S. player wrapped up the divestment of its 20% equity interest in Energos Infrastructure. Meanwhile, New Fortress Energy’s delivery of the first LNG cargo from a floating LNG (FLNG) facility off the coast of Altamira is due this month.

This facility has been cleared to export up to 7.8 million metric tons through April 2028.