US Regulator Approves Gulf LNG Project
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc), in a notational order handed down late July 16, has approved Kinder Morgan’s proposed 10.85mn mt/yr Gulf LNG Liquefaction project on the site of an existing import terminal near Pascagoula, Mississippi.
A total of 131 environmental conditions are attached to the approval.
The export terminal – which will be operationally integrated with the existing import terminal – is underpinned by a US department of energy authorisation issued in 2012 allowing for the export of up to 547.5bn ft3/yr of gas, in the form of LNG, over 25 years to countries with free trade agreements with the US. Non-FTA export authorisations are pending.
When Kinder Morgan applied to Ferc in 2015, it asked that the project be approved no later than June 17, 2016. At that time, the cost of the project was estimated at $8bn for two trains, with the first train expected to be in service by 4Q 2020, followed a year later by the second train.
Kinder Morgan’s web site offers no updated cost estimate or construction timeline, nor any information on whether a final investment decision has been taken on the project.
And a Kinder Morgan spokeswoman, in an email to NGW, said that while the company was pleased with Ferc’s approval, "there are still multiple factors that need to be met before reaching a final investment decision needed to begin this project."