JERA Americas is increasing its stake in a US liquefied natural gas export facility with the acquisition of a 25.7% stake from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $2.5bn (€2.2bn).

GIP’s second flagship fund, Global Infrastructure Partners II, acquired its stake in Freeport LNG Development in 2015.

Freeport owns and operates a liquefied natural gas export facility on Quintana Island, near Freeport, Texas. The company’s three train, 15mtpa liquefaction facility is the seventh largest in the world and second largest in the US.

Steven Winn, CEO of JERA Americas said increasing the company’s ownership position in Freeport not only provides JERA Americas with ”highly cost-competitive” LNG that may be used to ensure a stable supply to the global market, but it also will allow the firm to build upon and accelerate some of the efforts that Freeport has already initiated toward the goal of cleaner energy.

“Securing a stable supply of LNG is becoming increasingly important as we witness sharp price increases around the world.

”We will leverage the knowledge and expertise accumulated through JERA’s global LNG value chain business and power plant operations as we work together with Freeport on its various businesses to meet the growing demand for electricity in Asian countries and help facilitate the transition from coal to lower emission transitional fuel LNG.”

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