LNG Alliance signs up Oman customer for Mexico project

The developers behind the Amigo liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on the Pacific coast of Mexico signed a binding agreement to supply LNG to OQ Trading (OQT), an arm of the national energy company of Oman.

Amigo LNG, a liquefaction and export facility which will have capacity of 7.8Mt/y, is planned for the port of Guaymas in Sonora state. It will import natural gas by pipeline from shale reserves in the US and then liquefy it for export to Asia.

The project is being developed by the Singapore-based LNG Alliance, which revealed the new customer in a press release Friday. Values were not disclosed.

In mid-August, the developers signed up a new long-term buyer in Malaysia for LNG from Amigo.

Amigo is one of a number of LNG projects being developed on Mexico’s Pacific coast, including Sempra's Energía Costa Azul and Vista Pacifico and Mexico Pacific's Saguaro project. Major construction work has only begun at Energía Costa Azul, which is due to begin commercial operations in 2026.

The projects are designed to ship cheap US natural gas to fast-growing Asian markets without needing to transit the congested and delay-prone Panama Canal.

LNG Alliance, which has not yet made a final investment decision on Amigo, is racing to sign up buyers, close financing and begin construction before the project's export permits from the US Department of Energy expire in December 2027.