New Fortress Energy Inc. completed a financial restructuring on Friday through a plan agreed with its creditors, cutting the company's debt significantly and easing uncertainty over its operations and commitments in Puerto Rico. As part of the deal, the company extinguished about $5.7 billion in third-party debt in exchange for a mix of new debt and equity stakes, reducing corporate debt from roughly $5.7 billion to about $700 million. NFE also secured $136.5 million in new financing, disbursed on the restructuring's effective date, and said the process finished on the schedule set with creditors.
Crucially for Puerto Rico, the island remains within NFE's corporate structure, with the company stating the restructuring does not interrupt its island operations or alter existing contractual obligations to customers, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders. The transaction also separated New Fortress Energy's Brazil assets and operations to form two independent companies. Going forward, NFE retains liquefied natural gas assets, terminal infrastructure, and logistics in Mexico and Puerto Rico, plus generation facilities and turbines with a combined capacity of 735 megawatts.
In Puerto Rico, natural gas is used to diversify fuel sources for electricity generation, and NFE's infrastructure supports generating units serving the island's power system.