FERC permits Golden Pass LNG export terminal construction

The United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted a permit for the construction of the proposed Golden Pass natural gas liquefaction and export terminal in Sabine Pass, Texas.

FERC has also authorized the construction of compression and looping facilities in Texas and Louisiana that will make the Golden Pass Pipeline’s existing pipeline facilities bi-directional and enable it to transport up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of domestically-sourced natural gas to the export terminal project for liquefaction and export.

The Golden Pass joint venture, owned by Qatar Petroleum (70 percent) and ExxonMobil (30 percent) proposed to build and operate three liquefaction trains with a total production capacity sufficient to produce 15.6 million tons per annum at the at the existing import terminal onshore at the Sabine-Neches waterway, on the existing Port Arthur ship channel.

The current Golden Pass LNG terminal facilities include five 155,000 cubic meter LNG storage tanks, two marine berths capable of offloading various sized ocean-going LNG carriers and process facilities capable of regasifying LNG to produce approximately 2 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Certain modifications would be made to the existing import facilities, including modifications to enable segregation of regasification facilities from the liquefaction facilities, and construction of a new central control room.

The $10 billion export project will also include feed gas treatment facilities and a 200-250 megawatt self-generation power plant to power the liquefaction trains and other terminal operations.

In 2012, Golden Pass LNG received DoE clearance to export up to 15.6 mtpa of LNG to free trade agreement countries and the application to export LNG to nations with which the U.S. permits such trade, but has not entered into an FTA.

The project has already received the environmental approval from FERC in July.

 

LNG World News Staff