Engie, AES to jointly sell LNG in Central America

France’s Engie and AES Corporation have agreed to form a joint venture to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG) to third parties in Central America.

The joint venture will utilize the Costa Norte LNG terminal currently under construction in Colón, Panama, which is owned 50/50 by AES and Inversiones Bahía, the duo said in a joint statement.

The total capacity of the Costa Norte LNG terminal will be about 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), of which 25% will be used for the 380 MW AES Colón CCGT currently under construction on the same site. Engie will supply up to 0.4 mtpa of LNG to the CCGT beginning in 2018.

The remaining terminal capacity would be primarily available for the joint venture to market and sell to third parties, including up to 0.7 mtpa of LNG sourced from Engie mainly through the Cameron liquefaction project in the United States, the statement reads.

This JV further strengthens the LNG deal signed by Engie and AES last year, whereby both groups agreed to jointly market LNG in the Caribbean, from AES’ Andres regasification facility in the Dominican Republic.

The combined regasification capacity of Andres in the Dominican Republic and Costa Norte in Panamá is approximately 3 mtpa.

“Engie’s and AES’ objective continues to focus on providing a cleaner and more cost-effective alternative to oil-fueled power generation, while at the same time satisfying a growing need for natural gas in Central America and the Caribbean,” the statement said.

This new agreement will pave the way for the two companies to supply LNG to industrial customers, develop small-scale demand and provide bunkering services.