New Fortress Energy said it has advanced the technical and contractual work to allow third parties to use its natural gas terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as a temporary alternative while operations resume at its Altamira plant in Mexico. The company gave details after a follow-up hearing held Friday, November 13, before the federal court, where the agreements needed to enable alternate fuel supply to power generation plants were discussed.
The company said its facilities are available to receive natural gas from other suppliers and that it has already delivered the corresponding technical procedures and requirements. It also took part in coordination meetings and presented a negotiation calendar that federal magistrate Héctor L. Ramos Vega adopted. It said it also advanced on a draft agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA (AEE), or PREPA), the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (AAPP) and the Oversight Board.
The mechanism, known as tolling and contemplated in the current contract with PREPA, lets other suppliers use the San Juan terminal to deliver natural gas. Each company must bear the costs and obligations of its own operations. External suppliers must sign an agreement to use the terminal and cover navigation, pilotage, mooring and port costs for their vessels.
New Fortress Energy said these conditions are part of existing contract provisions, not extra requirements it imposed. It also said payment guarantees, letters of credit and possible advance payments discussed at the hearings are requests from companies interested in selling gas to the government, not demands by New Fortress Energy. The Altamira plant remains affected by a mechanical failure in a turbine, and operations could resume before the end of this year. Negotiations continue under federal court supervision.