(Adds quote in paragraph 4, info on Puerto Rico, Brazil in paragraphs 6-10)
By Marianna Parraga
HOUSTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - U.S. energy supplier New Fortress Energy plans to start operations at the first of three planned floating LNG plants in Altamira, Mexico, in September, the firm said on Tuesday, the country's first production of the super-chilled gas.
New Fortress, along with Mexico's state-owned power utility CFE, is building a $1.3 billion hub in Altamira in the Gulf of Mexico to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The company expects to complete and install two remaining floating LNG rigs this month, introduce gas in September and sell its first cargo in October. The facility will produce up to 1.4 million metric tons of LNG per year when fully operational, it said.
"At this point, each of the rigs have achieved mechanical completion, and we're in the process of commissioning various systems while the remaining rigs are still in the queue at shipyard," Chief Financial Officer Christopher Guinta said during an earnings call.
Two other floating LNG plants for Altamira are under construction with operations startup planned for the first quarter of 2025.
New Fortress also said it is finalizing an agreement to sell its La Paz power plant in Mexico to CFE for some $180 million, with the transaction expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
In Puerto Rico, where the company has solid presence, New Fortress' subsidiary Genera PR is since July managing power utility PREPA's thermal power generation system of 4,693 megawatts under a 10-year contract, expanding its presence in the Caribbean.
In Brazil, two large LNG terminals, Barcarena and Santa Catarina, are expected to start operations between December 2023 and January 2024, bringing online a combined 6 million metric tons per year of LNG regasification capacity.
The firm is now accelerating commercial activity and expects to sign up supply contracts in the next few months, it said.
"We are at an inflection point as $3.2 billion of infrastructure come online in the next 90 days," New Fortress said at its earnings presentation. Capital expenditures for 2024 are expected to decline to $250 million as several projects are completed.
The firm on Tuesday announced net income of $120 million in the second quarter and $272 million in the first half of 2023.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
