NFE and Hydro finalize definitive commercial terms for natural gas supply to the Alunorte Alumina Refinery in the state of Pará, Brazil

Business Wire
September 9, 2021
By: Staff

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BRAZIL

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 9, 2021-- New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NFE) (“NFE”) announced today that it has executed definitive commercial terms with a subsidiary of Norsk Hydro ASA (“Hydro”) to supply natural gas to the Alunorte Alumina Refinery in Pará, Brazil for a term of 15 years.

“We are excited to partner with Hydro to transition the Alunorte refinery to a cleaner fuel and to support Hydro’s global sustainability and environmental commitment,” said Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of New Fortress Energy. “This is a great example of how our LNG terminals can accelerate the energy transition in Brazil.”

Hydro is converting the calcination process and part of the steam generation at the Alunorte Alumina Refinery from fuel oil to natural gas. This initiative is part of Hydro's climate strategy and its global commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. The fuel switch will reduce the refinery’s annual CO2 emissions by 600,000 tonnes.

“Alunorte is among the most energy efficient alumina refineries in the world. The fuel switch to LNG is another step to improve our operations, driving sustainability and industry best practices to lower environmental impact,” said John Thuestad, Executive Vice President for Hydro’s Bauxite & Alumina business area.

NFE expects to supply Hydro with 29.5 TBtu of natural gas annually (equivalent to approximately 1 million gallons of LNG per day) to the refinery from NFE’s Barcarena LNG receiving and regasification terminal located in the state of Pará, Brazil.

The availability of natural gas is important for the industrial development in the Pará region and enables the replacement of more carbon-intensive fuels to reduce environmental impact. The Alunorte refinery will be an important gas consumer in Pará and therefore an enabler for establishing LNG supply in the Pará state.

“Access to LNG will enable a more sustainable operation for Hydro and also give access to natural gas for other industries and consumers in the state of Pará. This is part of our commitment to support local development,” said Thuestad.

NFE’s Barcarena terminal is anticipated to be completed and ready to supply natural gas in early Q1 of 2022 and the Alunorte refinery is expected to complete the conversion to natural gas by Q1 of 2023.

The agreement is subject to the execution of definitive agreements, final build decision, and approval by Hydro.

About New Fortress Energy

New Fortress Energy is a global energy infrastructure company founded to help accelerate the world’s transition to clean energy. The company funds, builds and operates natural gas infrastructure and logistics to rapidly deliver fully integrated, turnkey energy solutions that enable economic growth, enhance environmental stewardship and transform local industries and communities.