Crowley said its Carib Energy subsidiary has been awarded a multi-year contract to supply containerized, U.S.-sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to its first industrial customer, Coca-Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers in Cayey, Puerto Rico, and its a sister company, the rum distillery Club Caribe in Cidra, Puerto Rico.
Carib will supply and transport LNG to the plants, which will use LNG instead of diesel fuel. LNG will be a cleaner and more reliable fuel source, Crowley said.
LNG will be transported in 10,000-gallon, 40-foot intermodal ISO tank containers and shipped through Jacksonville to San Juan on Crowley vessels. The gas will then be driven to the Coca-Cola plants for regasification.
“From the sourcing and transportation to the delivery into the equipment, the entire process and LNG supply chain will be seamless for Coca-Cola,” said Greg Buffingon, vice president of Carib Energy.
Last year, Crowley announced it had entered the LNG market by acquiring Florida-based Carib Energy.
Carib has received a small-scale, 25-year LNG export license from the U.S. Department of Energy for LNG transportation from the U.S. into free-trade agreement countries and also has a pending DOE application to supply LNG transportation services into non-FTA countries.
It said its current licensing allows the Crowley company to supply LNG from the U.S. to commercial and industrial customers within the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Crowley said it is also “cementing its involvement in future LNG fuel bunkering for ships transiting between the U.S. and Caribbean markets.”