Crowley LNG to supply Coca-Cola

Crowley has won a multi-year contract to supply containerised, US-sourced LNG to its first industrial customer, Coca-Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers in Cayey and Club Caribe in Cidra, both wholly owned subsidiaries of CC1 Companies.

The contract will be executed through Crowley’s Carib Energy subsidiary. It includes the fuel supply and transportation of LNG to two of the manufacturer’s plants in Cayey and Cidra, Puerto Rico. LNG will provide both facilities with lower emissions and an alternative to diesel fuel. US LNG is an abundant resource and therefore offers uninterrupted fuel supply.

LNG supply

LNG transportation from US-based liquefaction facilities will be managed by Crowley’s domestic logistics team, which will coordinate over-the-road transportation of 40 ft intermodal containers authorised by the Department of Transportation to carry approximately 10 000 gal. of LNG to the company’s Jacksonville shipping terminal. The containers will then be loaded onto company-owned vessels departing for Puerto Rico. Once in Puerto Rico, Crowley’s local logistics team will deliver the LNG to the local Coca-Cola bottling facilities, where the LNG will be regasified back into natural gas for power consumption. 

Crowley’s Greg Buffingon, Vice President, Carib Energy, said: “From the sourcing and transportation to the delivery into the equipment, the entire process and LNG supply chain will be seamless for Coca-Cola. We are thrilled to play a pivotal role in supplying a cost-efficient, safe, reliable and environmentally friendly natural gas fuel source for their operations.”

Julio Bravo, Vice President of CC1 Companies, added: “We are very pleased to start working with Crowley towards bringing alternatives for cost effective sources of energy into our island and in the process provide a better footprint in our industrial projects by lowering our emissions. CC1 Companies […] understand[s] the great opportunities in using LNG and hope to be one of many to encourage the demand and reliable supply of such sources of energy."

Crowley entered the LNG market in 2013 with the acquisition of Florida-based Carib Energy LLC. The Crowley company was the first to receive a small scale, 25-year, LNG export license from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for LNG transportation from the US into Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries. Shortly thereafter, a Crowley LNG services group was formed to begin offering supply, transportation, and distribution of LNG services via 10 000 gal. ISO tanks.

While Carib Energy has a pending DOE application to supply LNG transportation services into non-FTA countries, its current licensing allows the Crowley company to supply cost-efficient, environmentally friendly LNG from the US to both commercial and industrial customers within the Caribbean and Central and South America. Crowley is also involved in future LNG fuel bunkering for ships transiting between the US and Caribbean markets.

Adapted from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/12032014/crowley_lng_to_supply_coca-cola_bottlers_277/