The Tribune

FOCOL Holdings and Shell have hired px Group as operations and maintenance partner for the $500m Clifton Pier liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal that will play a key role in delivering cheaper, cleaner energy for New Providence.

New Providence Gas, the joint venture between the BISX-listed company and multinational energy giant that owns the LNG terminal, have signed a multi-year agreement with px Group that will see the latter support commissioning and operational readiness before taking responsibility for the facility’s long-term operation and maintenance.

“This appointment represents an important step in px Group’s continued growth across the Americas,” said Geoff Holmes, px Group’s chief executive. “Our role begins before start-up, with preparing the facility, its systems and its operating organisation for safe and reliable service. We will then carry that responsibility into long-term operations, bringing the experience and operational discipline px has developed across critical energy and industrial infrastructure.”

px Group is owned by Ara Partners, a global private equity and infrastructure firm focused on decarbonising the industrial economy. It added that its involvement in The Bahamas expands px Group’s presence in the Americas, adding a strategically important LNG asset to its international portfolio.

px Group is also no stranger to LNG operations, having taken over management of Gibraltar’s LNG terminal last November. The company said in a statement that it has already established px Bahamas, a Bahamian-incorporated operating company, that will build and manage the team responsible for the Clifton Pier LNG terminal’s day-to-day operations and maintenance.

It added that a plant manager is already based in New Providence, and px Bahamas expects to recruit Bahamian operators, technicians and other skilled professionals as the project moves towards commissioning and start-up. px Bahamas will also establish the operational procedures, safety systems and technical capabilities required to support the terminal’s performance over the long-term.

Dexter Adderley, FOCOL Holdings president and chief executive, said px Group’s operating experience and local workforce plans will be vital to the success of the project.

“The strength of this project will ultimately be measured by how safely, reliably and consistently the terminal operates,” Mr Adderley said. “px Group brings the experience required to help carry the facility from commissioning into long-term operation, and we value its commitment to building px Bahamas around skilled Bahamian professionals. That combination of international operating expertise and local capability is essential to the lasting success of New Providence Gas.”

px Group said the New Providence Gas appointment builds on its expanding work across North America and the Caribbean, where it supports asset owners and developers through commissioning, start-up, operational readiness, operations and maintenance, engineering and asset management services.

The project also establishes a long-term operating presence for px in The Bahamas, combining the group’s international infrastructure experience with the development of a locally-based team.

New Providence Gas is a joint venture between Shell, which holds a 40 percent interest, and FOCOL’s Sun Oil Holdings, which holds the remaining majority 60 percent.

The terminal is being developed to receive, store and regasify LNG for delivery as natural gas to power generation facilities on New Providence. The project is intended to support greater fuel diversity, improved energy security and a lower emissions alternative to the heavy fuel oil (HFO) and diesel currently used by Bahamas Power & Light (BPL).