LNG

The US Golden Pass LNG export project on the Gulf Coast, owned by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, is requesting authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin the work covered in the latest part of its Implementation Plan and including the foundations of the first liquefaction Train by mid-October 2020.

The FERC formally approved the transformation of the Golden Pass import terminal located on the Sabine-Neches Waterway in Texas into an export plant in December 2016.

The Qatar-ExxonMobil project is building three liquefaction Trains with around 16 million tonnes per annum of output.

The first Train is still scheduled to come on stream in 2024, with Train 2 expected to follow six-to-eight months later, and Train 3 six-to-eight months after that.

Golden Pass has continued to progress its site development activities since 2019 and has now submitted the next chapter of the Implementation Plan to expand work at the site.

The project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor is a joint venture comprising Chiyoda Corp. of Japan and US companies McDermott International and Zachry Group.

The EPC companies have been making sure that local businesses received priority consideration for work and has awarded 34 local sub-contracts since actual construction began in May 2020.

The part of the Implementation Plan referred to in the latest FERC filing includes the installation of the foundations in the LNG Train 1 Area.

“While Southeast Texas perseveres through the Covid-19 crisis, many companies and residents are getting a boost from opportunity brought to the area by the Golden Pass LNG export project,” the developers have said.

The EPC contractors said they had already committed over $245 million to local businesses so far, and more than 650 local residents were working on the construction site as of the start of August 2020.

The companies noted that the schedule for the Golden Pass Project remains the same as the schedule that was provided in the Implementation Plan.

Part of the latest information exchange with the FERC covered the foundation calculations for the steel piperack (Pipe Bridge) in Train 1

“Golden Pass shall file with the Secretary the following information, stamped and sealed by the professional engineer-of-record in the state of Texas: a. site preparation drawings and specifications; b. LNG liquefaction facility structures and foundation design drawings and calculations (including prefabricated and field constructed structures); c. seismic specifications for procured equipment; and d. quality control procedures to be used for civil-structural design and construction,” it explained to the FERC.

Golden Pass requested that the information in this part of the plan (Volume II) be treated as “privileged and confidential”, and that it not be released to the public.

“This information contains proprietary information that is customarily treated as privileged and confidential and disclosure of this information could result in commercial and competitive harm to Golden Pass,” the developers told the FERC.

Qatar Petroleum owns 70 percent of the project and 30 percent is held by ExxonMobil.

The US major is also Qatar’s main partner in the existing Trains in Qatar itself which produce 77 MTPA and will be expanded to 110 MTPA.

ExxonMobil has said that the Golden Pass project is building on the other successful international relationship between the two in exploration and development activities in nations such as Argentina, Brazil and Mozambique.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said he would send a bill to Congress to attract investment for the production of conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons in the world-class Vaca Muerta shale formation.

ExxonMobil Corp, the US major with some of the largest LNG production and project stakes in Qatar and elsewhere, has acquired more than 1.7 million acres offshore Egypt where large natural gas finds such as the East Mediterranean Zohr field have been made in recent years.

Qatar has hosted its latest two-day Doha Forum in the Arab Gulf state where participants heard pledges from the Qataris to regain the No.1 spot in liquefied natural gas production and to boost global volumes with joint ventures such as one in the US.

Qatar said it was working towards expanding energy cooperation with South Africa including the possible supply of LNG volumes in the future and help with natural gas infrastructure development.

Argentine oil and gas producer, Yacimientos Petroleiferos Fiscales (YPF), said a natural gas well caught fire at its huge onshore Vaca Muerta shale gas and oil basin in the northwest of the country and whose resources are expected to lead to future large-scale LNG exports.

Qatar Petroleum said its decision to self-finance the North Field natural gas and Ras Laffan LNG expansion, to tender for contractors and drill appraisal wells before offering partnerships was part of its strategy to show the value of its assets.

ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, the leading global liquefied natural gas stakeholders, have made a large natural gas discovery offshore Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, opening more prospects for regional LNG production.

Qatar Petroleum said it signed an agreement with US major ExxonMobil, its main partner in the Qatari Ras Laffan LNG production complex, to acquire a 10 percent participating interest in three exploration blocks offshore the southeast African nation of Mozambique, one of the newest LNG developers.