US-listed New Fortress Energy has made an agreement with northwest African nation Mauritania to develop the country's offshore gas reserves in what could be a first deployment of its Fast LNG concept.
New Fortress said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Islamic Republic of Mauritania to develop an "energy hub" in the country.
The company said this will include natural gas power, LNG and blue ammonia by using Mauritania's offshore gas reserves.
New Fortress said that under the MOU it will deploy its 'Fast LNG' technology to produce LNG in the Atlantic coastal basin offshore Mauritania for local gas and power markets and international exports.
FLNG first
This is the first time New Fortress has named its planned floating LNG (FLNG) production units for use on specific gas reserves.
The company is currently converting two jack-up rigs into FLNG units by fitting liquefaction modules to their decks at Kiewit Shipyard in the US in what it believes will be a quick start-up, low-cost solution to monetise gas reserves.
The US outfit, which is also converting a third jack-up into a gas treatment unit, has said it plans to put the first Fast LNG unit into operation by the end of 2022.
New Fortress said the Mauritania production will be used to supply natural gas to both the existing 180MW Somolec Power Plant and a new 120MW combined cycle power plant that will be developed.
Company chairman and chief executive Wes Edens said that producing LNG from these fields with the Fast LNG liquefiers will help accelerate the global transition to cleaner fuels.
"Supply of natural gas and modern power infrastructure will also help bring more affordable, reliable and cleaner power to support industrial development and sustainable economic growth in Mauritania and, at the same time, unlock the country's potential to be a top exporter of clean LNG and blue ammonia," Edens said.
New Fortress added that it is in "advanced discussions" for the deployment of its Fast LNG technology in several other markets around the world, including offshore US.
