Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 38 2019

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil
Caribbean markets offer new
opportunities for US LNG operators
Eagle LNG hopes to take advantage of growing demand in the region via its Jacksonville LNG project
WHAT:
The US government has given a green light to the Jacksonville LNG.
WHY:
Jacksonville LNG aims to sell its production to Car- ibbean countries, where demand is growing.
WHAT NEXT:
US companies have
the advantage of geographical proximity to the Caribbean, but they will face competition from up-and-coming South American LNG producers.
EARLIER this week, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave a green light to the construction of Jacksonville LNG, a new gas liquefaction plant and LNG export ter- minal off the coast of Florida.
More specifically, it issued an order authoris- ing Eagle LNG Partners to build a floating LNG (FLNG) complex in Jacksonville, Florida. The order clears the way for Eagle LNG to establish a facility that will be able to produce and export around 1mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG. The company has said it hopes to begin production in 2021.
The project is notable for the fact that Eagle LNG is not targeting major export markets such as Europe and Asia, which can only be served economically via long-haul, large-scale tanker shipments. Instead, it is looking much closer to home. That is, it aims to supply markets in the Caribbean Sea region, which is close enough and small enough to justify the use of smaller vessels transporting smaller volumes.
Closer to home
Sean Lalani, the president of Eagle LNG, stressed this point, saying that Jacksonville LNG would be “the only project [focused on] provisioning
small-scale LNG projects in the Caribbean Basin.” He did not say exactly where the facility intended to sell its output, but he did state that LNG offered significant benefits for Caribbean countries.
“Numerous independent studies have shown that sourcing LNG for power generation allows Caribbean island nations the ability to substan- tially reduce power costs and simultaneously reduce CO2 emissions by 30-40% compared to fuel oil and coal,” he was quoted as saying in a company statement.
When it comes on stream in 2021, Jackson- ville LNG will not be the only US facility offering fuel to Caribbean buyers. Lalani acknowledged this, noting that his own company had been active in the area for some time. “Exports in small volumes from our existing Maxville LNG facility are already providing low-cost, domesti- cally produced US natural gas as an early, stable fuel source for the Caribbean,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eagle LNG is not the only com-
pany eyeing these markets. For example, JAX
LNG, a 1mn tpy facility built by Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream, has delivered numerous
small cargoes to Puerto Rico and to other Car- ibbean states since its launch in 2015. 
Eagle LNG’s planned cpmplex in Jacksonville (Image: Eagle LNG)
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 38 26•September•2019