USA: Brownsville Port Approves Lease for Gulf Coast LNG

In an application filed with the United States Department of Energy, Gulf Coast LNG Export, LLC has asked for authorization for the Port of Brownsville to be the location for a proposed facility utilized for exporting LNG. The lease has been approved by the Brownsville Board of Commissioners.

“We believe the Port of Brownsville is in a strategic geographic location to assure the success of this project, and we envision this to be a long-term relationship with the Port,” said Michael Smith, principal owner and CEO for Gulf Coast LNG Export, LLC.  Smith is also CEO and founder of Freeport LNG Development, L.P., which owns and operates a 2.0 billion cubic feet/day LNG receiving and regasification facility near Freeport.

Once approved, Gulf Coast LNG will initiate the review process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to receive authorization to site, construct, and operate the terminal at the Port. The project is expected to be operational in 2018 and is forecasted to bring thousands of jobs during the construction phase and hundreds of jobs once the facility is operational.

The partnership between the Port of Brownsville and Gulf Coast LNG will include a multi-billion dollar direct investment by Gulf Coast LNG Export of which the majority will go towards the development of a natural gas liquefaction facility and LNG export terminal located on Port property, in addition to infrastructure improvements necessary to support this business.

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LNG World News Staff, January 25, 2012;