Excelerate to ‘double’ Jamaica’s LNG throughput

Excelerate Energy expects to double the volume of gas moving through its Jamaican infrastructure, aided by its recent supply deal to The Bahamas, management said.

The contract was disclosed last week, but not its impact on Jamaica. The island will store the LNG and then ship it onwards to The Bahamas.

Chief Executive Steven Kobos said the Bahamian volumes at full run rate would result in “doubling Jamaica’s throughput of LNG”. He was responding to analysts on the company’s third-quarter earnings call this month.

The contract, with AxDo Bahamas Limited, provides up to 16 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of LNG a year over the 11-year contract. In 2025, Excelerate described Jamaica’s contracted capacity at its two terminals as up to 30 TBtu a year. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the doubling referred only to its on-land Montego Bay unit, which has capacity of 11 TBtu, as opposed to its Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), which operates at a higher capacity.

LNG typically benefits from zero-rated or exempt classifications in Jamaica. The Financial Gleaner, however, awaits responses from Excelerate on whether the increased activity would lead to further employment or indirect activity.

The first phase, which uses Jamaica as the hub, is expected to add US$6 million in group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2027. In the second phase, once a floating storage unit is deployed in The Bahamas, earnings are projected to rise to US$15 million a year.

“We plan to develop the Bahamas LNG Hub in two phases. Initial LNG deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027, utilising the existing FSRU, LNG supply, and logistics capabilities of our Jamaica platform,” Kobos said, referring to the FSRU offshore Old Harbour. He indicated that the cost of building out the Bahamas storage would top US$95 million. “This includes the cost for the LNG carrier and the cost of converting the vessel into the FSU.”

Excelerate reported record quarterly adjusted EBITDA of US$133.5 million, as against US$120.1 million in the June quarter and US$129.3 million a year earlier. Net income rose to US$60 million from US$50.1 million in the preceding quarter, and US$55 million a year earlier. Revenue fell to US$297.2 million from US$391 million, which the company attributed to the timing of deliveries under its Atlantic Basin agreement.

The company narrowed full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to US$495 million from US$515 million.

Excelerate bought the Montego Bay and Old Harbour LNG terminals and the Clarendon combined heat and power plant from New Fortress Energy for about US$1.05 billion, completing the purchase in May 2025. LNG supplies roughly two-thirds of Jamaica’s electricity.

“For Excelerate, this development represents more than a new commercial agreement. It is a critical component of our multi-phase Caribbean growth strategy,” Kobos said. “The Bahamas LNG Hub and our integrated Jamaica platform will give us two LNG storage and distribution hubs in the Caribbean.”

Together with a planned FSRU deployment in Colombia, that would strengthen Excelerate’s position to serve growing LNG demand across the region, he added.

“We’ll be using our assets, our platform in Jamaica to serve our customers,” Chief Commercial Officer Oliver Simpson in the earnings call.

business@gleanerjm.com

business@gleanerjm.com