With final permits in place, Galveston LNG Bunker Port gears up for 2027 launch

Galveston LNG Bunker Port (GLBP), a joint venture (JV) between Seapath and Pilot LNG, is set to progress toward a final investment decision (FID), having received necessary construction authorizations from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Coast Guard.

Located on the Texas City Ship Channel in the Texas City industrial area, GLBP is said to be the first dedicated LNG bunkering facility in the U.S. Gulf Coast.

On May 19, GLBP said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had issued its Section 408 and 404/10 authorizations for the small-scale LNG project under the Clean Water Act.

Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) had issued its Captain of the Port Letter of Recommendation (LOR) for the project’s Waterway Suitability Assessment (WSA) pursuant to Regulation 33 CFR 127.

The latest milestone follows GLBP’s announcement in January that it had received its Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) Water Quality Certification and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) air permit.

With these authorizations in place, GLBP is now fully permitted to advance the project to FID, anticipated in mid-2025, targeting the second half of 2027 for product deliveries.

President of Seapath Group, Josh Lubarsky, commented: “After several years of challenging and complex work bringing together the engineering, permitting, and third party supplies for gas and power to the project, we are now comfortably ahead in the marketplace to be the first dedicated LNG marine fuels supplier in the U.S. Gulf. So much work is required behind the scenes to get a complex project to this point, which oftentimes goes unnoticed.

“We have made a significant financial commitment to this project and, over the course of the last several years, have positioned GLBP to be the foremost clean fuel supply hub in the Galveston Bay/Gulf region. We could not be more excited for the start of construction in the coming months.”

The terminal is being developed in two phases with a total capacity of up to 720,000 gallons per day accompanied by two 3-million-gallon storage tanks.

GBLP has already executed agreements for the gas supply and additional pipeline facilities required to support the facility’s operations, including the contract with Energy Transfer’s Houston Pipeline Company for the long-term LNG supply to GLBP.

Just recently, the first sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for the supply of LNG to Dunmura, the 2024-launched bunkering company, was signed.

Once operational, the facility will provide LNG to the Galveston Bay Port complex, which includes the crucial ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City, and the Galveston Offshore Lightering Areas.