Mexico’s Fast LNG Ships Out First Cargo—for Mexico

New Fortress Energy (NFE) shipped its first cargo from its Fast LNG 1 project, an offshore development located in the Gulf of Mexico, about 275 miles from the southern tip of Texas.

On Aug. 9, the company released the news via a video on YouTube, celebrating the accomplishment. New Fortress develops modular liquefication facilities. The Fast LNG 1 project pairs the modular design with an offshore facility.

“The milestone of first cargo is important because we have now proven the concept of fast LNG being an innovative approach for producing liquefied natural gas by combining modular topside facilities with pre-existing substructures,” Barry Clayton, director of operations at Fast LNG 1, said in the video.

The cargo will take an international route to a domestic destination: Mexico’s gas-starved Pacific coast. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the tanker, Energos Princess, was expected to pass through the Panama Canal before delivering the load to a Mexico LNG import terminal on the Baja Peninsula.  

The U.S. Department of Energy has regulatory authority over Fast LNG 1 because it is fed by the offshore Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Pipeline, which is owned by TC Energy (TRP) and ships natural gas from the U.S.

The DOE authorized 430 MMcf/d of exports from the facility to countries with which the U.S. has a free-trade agreement (FTA). New Fortress is currently seeking DOE’s permission to ship up to 400 MMcf/d to non-FTA countries.

Prior to announcing the shipment, New Fortress said the facility was not complete and that full operations may commence “substantially later than the date of first cargo.”

Mexico has one LNG terminal currently under construction on its west coast: The $1.2 billion Energia Costa Azul LNG project, expected to be completed in the first half of 2026. Five other west coast LNG projects are under development in the country, although none have reached final investment decisions.

For now, the Fast LNG 1 terminal will serve customers primarily on Mexico’s Pacific coast, according to an Aug. 16 analysis by East Daley Analytics. The shipments will eventually provide feed gas to several power plants in Baja, a region with limited gas pipeline infrastructure that often relies on oil-fired power generation to meet its electricity needs.

East Daley said the LNG project’s start-up will increase demand for several natural gas pipeline systems in the South Texas Agua Dulce area. Two pipelines, the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan and Enbridge’s Valley Crossing Pipeline, will especially benefit from the extra traffic.

The Valley Crossing line interconnects with the Sur De Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border. East Daley forecast that the extra traffic created by the Fast LNG project will stabilize demand on a system that has historically seen volatile earnings from seasonal demand and international price fluctuations.