Gas Natural Fenosa of Spain said it has started to supply natural gas to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), with which it has signed a contract to supply 2 bcm (2 billion cubic metres) over the next two years.
This is the first natural gas supply contract signed by Gas Natural Fenosa in Puerto Rico, a country where the company has had a presence since 2003, and it is one of the most important in the company’s wholesale customer portfolio.Furthermore, it firmly establishes the multinational as one of the leading gas suppliers in the Atlantic Mediterranean Basin, where it operates around 30 bcm.
The PREPA will use the gas it receives to supply the Costa Sur power plant, which can generate 990 megawatts (MW) of power. Gas Natural Fenosa will ship the gas, from its contract portfolio, to the country by boat and will carry out the regasification process at the EcoEléctrica plant, before delivering the gas to the PREPA.
The supply launch event was attended by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis G. Fortuño, and also present were José Ortiz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the PREPA, Otoniel Cruz, Executive Director of the PREPA, and Juan Manuel Román, Executive Vice President of the Government Development Bank. On behalf of Gas Natural Fenosa, the event was attended by Global Wholesale Account Manager, Víctor Tuñón, and the Country Manager for Puerto Rico, Mark Hanson, among others.
Gas Natural Fenosa presence in Puerto Rico
Gas Natural Fenosa operates in Puerto Rico through the company EcoEléctrica, in which it holds a 47.5% stake, and which has a 540 MW combined cycle plant and a regasification plant with annual capacity of approximately 2 bcm.
The activity in Puerto Rico enables Gas Natural Fenosa to improve its position in LNG international trading operations in markets in the Atlantic Ocean region.
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LNG World News Staff, May 1, 2012; Image: EcoEléctrica