Firm seeks authority to export LNG to Caribbean

Eagle LNG Partners said it wants to build a liquefaction facility near Jacksonville, Fla. to ship liquid natural gas to the Caribbean, pending federal approval.    Privately-held Eagle LNG Partners has applied to the Department of Energy for long-term permission to export liquefied natural gas to Caribbean nations for electricity generation. The company said Wednesday it planned to build an LNG export facility in Jacksonville, Fla., to export LNG on its own behalf and for others.
   The application seeks to export about 1 million tons per year. The proposed LNG facility, which requires approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), is significantly smaller than other LNG export projects currently being considered by the agency.
   Many Caribbean nations depend on diesel fuel to power their electric grid. Natural gas is cleaner to burn and cheaper than diesel fuel.
   Eagle LNG plans to utilize LNG carriers for the bulk of shipment volume. Some shipments via ISO container tanks are possible as well, spokesman Dario Alvarez, said in an e-mail.
   Last month, Crowley Puerto Rico Services selected Eagle LNG Partners as the LNG supplier for the company’s new LNG-powered Commitment-class ships, which will be delivered in 2017 for use in the U.S.-Puerto Rico trade lane. Eagle LNG plans to build a natural gas liquefaction plant with a capacity of 200,000 gallons per day in Jacksonville. The facility is scheduled to be up and running by early 2017. That facility does not require FERC approval.
   Through early January, FERC has approved seven LNG export terminals, six of which are under construction, according to the agency.
   An explosion in U.S. natural gas production in recent years due to new drilling techniques has increased domestic supply and motivated the oil and gas industry to seek export markets after decades in which the United States was purely an LNG importer.