Driftwood LNG developer Tellurian has ousted co-founder Charif Souki as executive chairman by choosing his long-term business partner Martin Houston as the new Tellurian chairman. Souki will stay a member of the board, the company said, stressing “these changes are not the result of any material or unexpected financial events.”
Souki previously headed Cheniere Energy as a founder but was ousted from Cheniere by activist shareholders in 2016 and went on to found Tellurian with Martin Houston, who had also been a former executive of BG Group prior to its takeover by Shell.
Shares in Tellurian had once traded as high as $10.70 per share on April 3, 2019, but have steadily slumped because of delays in progressing with the Driftwood project, which has permits to produce 27 mtpa of LNG. Analysts pointed at the companies changing equity strategies which potentially made initial backers such as Shell and Vitol withdraw their interest in being among the first cargo buyers.
Despite a posting a third-quarter loss of $12.55 million, vs a profit $40.07 million in the same quarter of 2022, Tellurian CEO Octávio Simões stays optimistic that construction of the Driftwood plant and “remained on target” to produce first LNG in 2027. The project involves constructing 20 mid-scale processing Trains, each with 1.38 mtpa capacity and built as five blocks. Phase 1 development would include the first two of these blocks for 11 mtpa of output.
