Wes Edens-led New Fortress Energy said it has finalized a recently announced deal which includes building an LNG import facility in Sri Lanka.
NFE said in a statement it had executed a definitive agreement with Sri Lanka to buy 40% ownership stake in West Coast Power, the owner of the 310 MW Yugadanavi power plant based in Colombo. In addition, the deal includes the rights to develop a new LNG terminal.
The 310 MW Yugadanavi power plant currently has a long-term power purchase agreement to provide electricity to the national grid that extends through 2035. This power plant consists of General Electric turbines and runs on natural gas in combined cycle, according to NFE.
As part of the transaction, NFE will have gas supply rights to the Kerawalapitya power complex, where 310 MW of power is operational today, but there are expansion plans to boost the capacity to an additional 700 MW, of which 350 MW would go online in 2023.
The power complex is the foundation of the baseload power that serves the country’s population of 22 million people.
LNG terminal to begin operations in 2023
Besides the power plant developments, the US LNG firm plans to build an offshore receiving, storage and regasification terminal located off the coast of Colombo.
Sri Lanka’s first LNG terminal could begin operations in 2023.
New Fortress said it would initially provide the equivalent of an estimated 1.2 million gallons of LNG (about 35,000 MMBtu) per day to the government of Sri Lanka, but it expects “significant growth” as new power plants become operational.
“This is a significant milestone for Sri Lanka’s transition to cleaner fuels and more reliable, affordable power,” said Wes Edens.
“We are pleased to partner with Sri Lanka by investing in modern energy infrastructure that will support sustainable economic development and environmental gains,” he said.