Annova LNG seeks FERC approval for its liquefaction project

Houston-based Annova LNG filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to initiate a review of the potential development of a mid-scale natural gas liquefaction and transfer facility at the Port of Brownsville, Texas.

Exelon Generation is the majority owner of the Annova LNG Brownsville project.

The project is contingent upon Annova successfully obtaining all necessary local, state and federal permits; acquisition of sufficient long-term customer commitments to buy liquefied natural gas from the facility; and broad public support of the project in South Texas. A decision whether to build the facility is expected by the end of 2017. This filing marks the beginning of the projected two-year permitting process.

If built, the LNG terminal would sit beside the Brownsville Ship Channel on 650 acres designated by the Port of Brownsville for industrial use. The proposed site is about eight miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Cameron County, Texas. The facility would be operational by 2020.

Construction of the project would support an average of 675 on-site jobs over a four-year period, which translates to approximately $324 million in direct labor income for Texans, according to an Ernst & Young economic analysis completed in February 2015. Once operational, the facility would employ about 165 workers at an average salary of about $70,000 a year.

The project requires 26 federal, state and local permits and licenses, including approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as various construction-related permits.

The proposed site could accommodate three stages of development, with each capable of producing two million tons of LNG a year for at least six million tons annually when complete.

Image: Port of Brownsville