OMERS Infrastructure and Enagas Chile SpA have agreed to sell their 80 percent share in GNL Quintero S.A. (“Quintero”), Chile’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification plant, to EIG, a renowned institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors. The terms of the deal have not been made public.
With a bridge fuel that enables economic expansion to be balanced with the adoption of renewables and the phase-out of coal, Quintero is an important energy infrastructure company supporting Chile’s decarbonization agenda. Quintero, Chile’s biggest LNG terminal, has been in operation since 2009. Its storage and regasification capacity are also among the greatest in the country. Customers in the central Chilean sectors of residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and power generation are served by the terminal because of its enviable position on Quintero Bay. It has 75 percent of Chile’s LNG regasification capacity and in 2021, 67 percent of Chile’s total natural gas imports will come through this critical facility. At 15 million cubic meters per day, the terminal has the ability to regasify 15 million cubic meters per day, as well as 334,000 cubic meters of LNG storage capacity, and 2,500 cubic meters of truck loading capability per day.
RES capacity in Chile is equal to 4% of total global energy consumption, and the country boasts world-class solar and wind resources. By 2040, the government aims to create 200 GW of renewable electricity to manufacture green hydrogen, making it one of the world’s three greatest producers. A number of countries, including Belgium, Germany, South Korea, and the Port of Rotterdam, have already inked agreements with Chile to boost the export of green hydrogen.
An EIG subsidiary in Chile has purchased Cerro Dominador, a revolutionary solar complex that incorporates 100 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) electricity and 110 megawatts (MW) of concentrated solar power (CSP). As of April 2021, both the PV facility and the CSP plant have been completely operational and connected to Chile’s electrical grid. Additionally, EIG is a shareholder in Chile-based independent power producer AME S.p.A. For the next several years, AME plans to build many commercial hydrogens and e-fuel projects, including Generadora Metropolitana, Chile’s fifth-biggest power production firm. HIF Global is a leader in the hydrogen and e-fuels industry.
As a result of this relationship, Fluxys has gained a footing in another Latin American country where the government places a strong priority on energy transformation. Chile is aiming to manufacture the world’s cheapest green hydrogen because to its copious solar and wind resources. Belgian Hydrogen Import Coalition with Fluxys as a partner demonstrated that a green molecular supply chain from Chile to Europe and Belgium is viable.
A firm like Quintero “aligns nicely with our focus on strategic, high-quality infrastructure, which is vital to the region it serves and produces attractive and predictable cash flows,” said R. Blair Thomas, EIG’s CEO. In order to meet Chile’s energy demands and transition goals with reliable electricity, Fluxys and Quintero have teamed together again. For Quintero, natural gas infrastructure is a launching point for expansion into related and adjacent sectors, such as storage, truck loading, and regasification as well as production capacity for green hydrogen, where Quintero has significant potential to be a domestic leader in the nascent industry. “.”
For Pascal De Buck, chief executive officer of Fluxys and managing director of its three European LNG terminals, “Quintero is a great fit with our expansion plan in view of the low carbon future,” said Pascal De Buck, chief executive officer of Fluxys. It is with great pleasure that we announce our partnership with EIG, a renowned global energy infrastructure investor already deeply committed in energy transition projects in Chile. Hydrogen projects in Chile are closer to Fluxys’ location in Quintero, which aids the importation of hydrogen into Belgium. With Quintero’s management and employees, we’re looking forward to working and creating new prospects.”
Expected to completion in the second half of 2022, the deal is subject to standard closing conditions and regulatory clearances.
