Pivotal LNG, a Southern Company unit, this week completed another multi-year contract to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Crowley Maritime Corp. for shipment to Puerto Rico. The companies signed a similar multi-year deal last August.

Pivotal, which operates multiple LNG production facilities in the Southeast, indicated it expected to source the latest contract volumes from its Jacksonville, FL plant, which is being jointly developed with Northstar Midstream. No terms or conditions, including volumes and prices, were disclosed for the new contract.

Truck-transported containerized LNG is to be delivered to Crowley, which in turn would deliver supplies via marine containerization ship to Puerto Rico customers. The contract is between Pivotal and Crowley subsidiary Carib Energy LLC, which has seen more use of LNG in the island territory.

The new contract extends an existing one between Carib and a pharmaceutical company in Puerto Rico, with the increased LNG volumes to allow expanded use of the fuel at the company’s Puerto Rican plants.

Pivotal’s LNG is loaded into Crowley’s international shipping organization containers and trucked to vessels in Jacksonville. The state-of-the-art production plant, JAX LNG, in Jacksonville is expected to be operational before the end of this year, a Pivotal spokesperson said.

Pivotal and Southern operate a network of production facilities and currently are able to produce more than 554,000 gallons of LNG daily and store more than 96 million gallons. Trade to Puerto Rico has been further enhanced by abundant gas supplies in the Lower 48 states and the development of smaller-scale standardized LNG shipping containers suitable for moving volumes via truck, rail, and ship like other containerized cargo.

Pivotal President Tim Hermann said LNG in Puerto Rico has allowed the industry to save money on fuel needs and reduce harmful emissions.

Safety and reliability continue to be a key, according to Crowley Vice President Greg Buffington. “Our customers have been able to expand their environmental sustainability efforts and better manage weather-related power challenges that can affect Puerto Rico.”