NFE said on Monday that the first fire signifies the successful initial ignition of the plant’s gas turbines and the start of the hot commissioning process.
According to NFE, COD (commercial operations date) for the plant is expected later this year.
Once operational, Celba 2 will provide “reliable” power to the region through NFE’s integrated gas and power infrastructure in Barcarena, it said.
Last year, NFE launched its 6 mtpa (300 TBtu) Barcarena LNG terminal located in Para, Brazil.
The 160,000-cbm FSRU, Energos Celsius, owned by Apollo’s Energos Infrastructure, serves the facility.
Two power plants
“Our Barcarena terminal has a total of 2.2 GW of power under development, including the 624 MW Celba 2 power plant and the 1.6 GW PortoCem power plant,” said Leandro Cunha, managing director at NFE.
He said that PortoCem is fully financed, construction is approximately 75 percent complete, and the project is expected to begin operations by August 2026.
“In addition to our existing portfolio, we are well positioned to participate in Brazil’s upcoming power auctions scheduled for March,” Cunha said.
It is worth mentioning here that NFE recently reached an agreement on contract terms with the Third-Party Procurement Office and the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority for the long-term supply of LNG to Puerto Rico.
According to NFE, up to 75 TBtu of natural gas per year can be supplied through the GSA, with minimum annual take-or-pay volumes of 40 TBtu, increasing to up to 50 TBtu if certain conditions are met.
The volumes under the GSA are expected to be supplied by LNG produced from NFE’s 1.4 mtpa Fast LNG facility located offshore Altamira, Mexico.
NFE said this deal “locks in sustainable long-term margins for NFE and provides a foundation of financial stability for the company.”
The company reported a net loss of $557 million in the second quarter of 2025.
NFE’s net loss in the second quarter widened compared to a net loss of $86.9 million in the second quarter last year and $197.4 million in the first quarter of this year.
