October 01, 2024 [Reuters]- New Fortress Energy said the U.S. energy infrastructure company shipped the first export of liquefied natural gas from Mexico on Monday, following the delayed start-up of its $1 billion floating facility in the Gulf of Mexico.

New Fortress in early August completed preproduction at the first train of its Fast LNG project in Altamira and said a first partial cargo from the facility would be delivered to its La Paz power plant in Mexico.

Marshall Islands-flagged LNG tanker Energos Princess, which carried that cargo in late August from Mexico’s Atlantic coast to the Pacific Coast through the Panama Canal, is now setting sail with a new shipment bound for Europe, according to the company and LSEG vessel tracking data.

The vessel will reach its destination around Oct. 18, the data showed.

“This is a significant milestone for our Fast LNG installation,” said Wes Edens, chairman and CEO of New Fortress, in a release. “We’re excited to be able to provide our own gas supply to the world markets and our customers.”

The company faced delays since last year to complete infrastructure at the 1.4 million-tonnes-per-annum project and begin processing U.S. natural gas in Mexico, which postponed the commercial start of Mexico’s first LNG plant.

In early September, New Fortress announced it had received authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy to export LNG to non-free trade agreement countries from Altamira for five years. It had previously received authorization to export to nations under free trade agreements with the United States.

Earlier on Monday, New Fortress said in a separate release it would delay the payment of a previously declared $0.10 per share Class A common stock dividend as it tried to address near-term maturities and liquidity requirements.

“The company expects to reach an agreement with its noteholders in the near future,” it said, adding that it would reevaluate the dividend payment.

The company’s share price tumbled more than 12% to as low as $8.20 following the announcement, recovering to around $8.70 later but still below an opening price of $9.51 per share, according to company data.

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