Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast announced in a recent statement that it has awarded a firm-fixed-price contract on March 26 to Excelerate Gas Marketing Ltd. Partnership, a small business based in The Woodlands, Texas, for the continued supply of LNG to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
According to NAVFAC, the contract provides for the delivery of an estimated 4,053,860 MMBtu of LNG over a five-year period.
Deliveries will occur every 14 to 21 days to fuel the installation’s power plant, it said.
NAVFAC did not provide further details regarding the LNG deliveries.
Excelerate owns a fleet of floating storage and regasification units and one LNG carrier scheduled for conversion, but it also has contracts to buy LNG from the US and Qatar and supply it to its clients.
In May last year, Excelerate completed its acquisition of New Fortress Energy’s business in Jamaica, which is located south of Cuba, for $1.055 billion.
Under the deal, Excelerate has acquired the assets and operations of the Montego Bay LNG terminal, the Old Harbour LNG terminal, including a chartered FSRU, the 150 MW Clarendon combined heat and power plant, and small-scale regasification facilities throughout the island.
LNG power plant
Due to its isolated location, NS Guantanamo Bay generates 100 percent of its own power and water, according to NAVFAC.
In 2019, NAVFAC initiated an energy savings performance contract to modernize the installation’s energy infrastructure by replacing aging diesel generators with a combined-cycle power plant fueled by LNG.
NAVFAC noted that this new contract ensures a continued fuel supply to that facility.
The contract is expected to be completed by April 2031.
According to a separate statement by the US Navy, the $368.8 million LNG power plant was commissioned in September 2023.
The 20 MW facility is projected to achieve “annual energy savings of $24.6 million over a 22-year performance period, reduce annual fuel consumption by approximately 27.4 percent, and curtail CO2 emissions by more than 20,000 tons annually,” the statement said.
Vessel charter
Military Sealift Command, a part of the US Navy, announced last week in a document that it is seeking information about a small vessel to supply LNG to NS Guantanamo Bay.
MSC requests information about the price and the availability of US-flag or foreign-flag vessels capable of carrying a minimum of 50,000 MMBtu (about 2,200 CBM) of LNG to fill a storage requirement at NS Guantanamo Bay, it said.
The vessel is required for a charter.
It needs to have a maximum displacement of 41,000 metric tons, a maximum length overall of 256 meters, and a maximum laden draft of 10 meters.
The LNG tanker/barge shall have a gross capacity of between 4,000 cbm and 15,000 cbm.
MSC said the loading port is Portland Bight, Jamaica.
Excelerate’s FSRU-based facility is located there.
MSC said this is the first delivery to this new terminal, and the purpose is to complete the cooldown of the LNG terminal and the storage tanks.
It provided three delivery windows, from April 27 to June 12.
Responses are requested by April 16.
