GFI LNG LP (GFI), a diversified energy solutions company, and Pilot LNG LLC (Pilot), a Houston-based clean energy infrastructure developer, have announced that they have formed a partnership to develop, construct, and operate a small-scale LNG terminal in Salina Cruz, Mexico. Strategically located on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, the project is ideally positioned to supply North and Central American bunker and fuel markets.

GFI and Pilot plan to commence front-end engineering and design development for the project this quarter. The partners anticipate a 12-18 month development and permitting timeline and anticipate announcing a Final Investment Decision (FID) in the second half of 2025.

At full build-out, the facility is anticipated to produce 600,000 gallons of liquified natural gas(LNG) per day, or roughly 0.34 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA). The partners anticipate operations to commence in mid-to-late 2027. With speed-to-market in mind, the project is being designed to include modular, land-based liquefaction equipment and an optimized storage solution. The project will deploy a floating storage unit (FSU) with an estimated capacity ranging from 50,000 – 140,000 m3 to be moored inside the newly expanded breakwater in the Port of Salina Cruz.

Salina Cruz will use domestic Mexican gas supply from the Veracruz gulf region to access new high-value markets along the Pacific Coast. These premium markets include: LNG marine fuel deliveries at the Pacific entry of the Panama Canal and into Southern California (the Ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles), sales into Central American power markets, and trucked volumes in the local region of southwestern Mexico.

(Dreamstime photo of Miraflores Lock on Pacific side of Panama Canal)