LNG

The founder and executive Chairman of the Commonwealth LNG project in Louisiana, Paul Varello, has announced his retirement while also selling control of his company to the New York-based Kimmeridge asset management firm.

Commonwealth LNG, the US developer of an export plant in Cameron Parish in Louisiana and whose future customers include Australian liquefaction plants operator Woodside Energy, said it expected the US Department of Energy to approve a licence to export to Non-Free Trade Agreement countries in the weeks ahead.

Commonwealth LNG, the US developer of an export plant in Cameron Parish in Louisiana, and the Singapore trading unit of Australian liquefaction plants operator Woodside Energy, have signed two binding LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements while Woodside also signed an accord to supply cargoes to Uniper of Germany.

Commonwealth LNG, the export venture proposed for Cameron Parish in the US Gulf Coast state of Louisiana, has overhauled its management and named the former Chief Executive of Sempra’s Cameron LNG project, Farhad Ahrabi, to serve as Commonwealth’s new President and CEO.

Ahrabi joins Commonwealth following a seven-year tenure at Cameron during which he oversaw the development, construction and subsequent operations of a 14.5-million tonnes per annum liquefaction and export facility at Hackberry in Louisiana.

Commonwealth’s plan is for an export plant consisting of six liquefaction Trains, each with a nominal production capacity of 1.4 MTPA and totalling 8.4 MTPA.

The project is also proposing to construct six LNG storage tanks, each with capacity of 50,000 cubic metres and one marine berth capable of accommodating vessels of up to 216,000 cubic metres capacity.

The liquefaction plant requires about 182 acres to construct and would occupy about 107 acres during operations.

The Commonwealth project’s founder and Chairman, Paul Varello, said he was delighted to recruit Ahrabi to head the team.

Leadership

“The depth of Farhad’s leadership experience, both at Cameron and the preceding 28 years with BG Group, will be of immeasurable value to our team as we move through the final stages of development and into construction and operation,” said Varello.

“Projects of this magnitude involve a complex convergence of technical, financial, political and community support elements that require the kind of high-level thinking and pragmatic solutions that Farhad can bring,” Varello added.

Ahrabi said he was particularly attracted to the Commonwealth opportunity because of the company’s engineering-focused approach.

The new CEO said that Commonwealth’s advantage is that it will keep liquefaction costs low and ultra-competitive in the global market at a time when there is a growing demand for US-sourced gas.

“Commonwealth has staked its ground by securing an excellent location, developing a highly modularized approach to provide clean and affordable energy, and offering creative and flexible commercial terms,” said Farhad.

“I’m humbled and excited to have the opportunity to lead the organization in delivering its promise in a way that not only serves the interests of this company, its employees, the local communities and all other stakeholders, but is part of the overall advancement of the next generation US LNG facilities,” he stated.

BG veteran

In addition to his prior roles at Cameron LNG and BG Group of the UK, Ahrabi has also served over the past two years as an Independent Director at ARC Resources Ltd, a leading Canadian energy company with a diverse asset portfolio focused on responsible energy development.

Ahrabi holds a PhD in Reservoir Engineering from the University of Exeter (England) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wales.

Commonwealth said its remaining pre-final investment decision activities were underway for a projected start of construction in 2023.

The project is expected to have an accelerated schedule that will allow building to be completed in three years using a predominantly modular approach for a projected start of commercial operations in 2026.