New Fortress Energy to Sell LNG Maritime Infrastructure for New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE) said on Tuesday it formed a new LNG joint venture with buyout firm Apollo Global Management Inc. and sold 11 vessels and storage units to the JV for $2 billion.
New Fortress, which will own 20% of the JV and get $1.1 billion in proceeds from the LNG infrastructure sale, will also charter ten of the 11 vessels included in the sale for up to 20 years. The JV will be owned approximately 80% by Apollo funds.
The 11-vessel portfolio consists of six Floating Storage and Regasification Units, two LNG carriers, and three Floating Storage Units. As part of the transaction, NFE has agreed to charter 10 of the 11 of the vessels from the Platform for a period of up to 20 years.
The deal comes at a time when U.S. LNG exporters are seeking to benefit from a global shift away from dirtier fossil fuels such as coal and oil, especially as Europe tries to wean itself off Russian energy dependence.
“Together with Apollo, we are creating a leading LNG marine infrastructure platform to help accelerate the energy transition while freeing up capital to continue to invest into our Fast LNG and downstream LNG projects worldwide,” Wes Edens, chairman and CEO of New Fortress Energy, said. “We are pleased to be partnering with Apollo in creating a maritime infrastructure company that will help support NFE’s growing LNG infrastructure needs going forward.”
This transaction will create a global marine infrastructure platform underpinned by long-term contracts, benefitting from NFE’s LNG downstream operations and development activities, as well as Apollo’s leading investment and maritime experience. The Platform provides critical infrastructure for the delivery, storage, and regasification of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) to power countries around the world, which can reduce their reliance on oil and coal to lower carbon emissions while enabling potentially substantial cost savings.
New Fortress said it has signed deals to receive natural gas from Mexico's biggest state-run utilities - Pemex and Comisin Federal de Electricidad (CFE).