LNG

Texas LNG, the liquefied natural gas export plant to be constructed by New York-based Glenfarne Group in the Port of Brownsville, has been issued with two additional mitigation measures by regulators and said it was still on track to make a final investment decision in 2023.

Sempra Infrastructure, the owner of LNG assets on the US Gulf Coast and Mexico, has signed a preliminary supply accord with the Polish Oil and Gas Company for 3 million tonnes per annum of shipments from Louisiana and Texas.

A heads of agreement (HOA) was signed for a potential Polish deal with the cargoes delivered on a free-on-board bases from Sempra’s Cameron LNG plant at Hackberry in Louisiana, which is being expanded.

“The agreement underscores our commitment to help provide greater energy security to Poland and our global partners through long-term LNG sales,” said Dan Brouillette, President of Sempra Infrastructure, an affiliate of San Diego, California-based utility Sempra.

“Our relationship with PGNiG is core to this commitment, and we are excited to continue working closely with them to advance more reliable, secure and increasingly clean energy solutions,” added Brouillette.

Iwona Waksmundzka-Olejniczak, President of Polish Oil and Gas, said the accord paved the way for negotiations of detailed terms.

Commercial path

“LNG is already one of the cornerstones of our diversified strategy to enhance Polish energy security, as well as to strengthen the commercial potential of the PGNiG Group,” she added.

Sempra stated that the accord may result in the finalization of definitive 20-year LNG sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) for 2 MTPA from the Cameron LNG Phase 2 project expansion in Louisiana and 1 MTPA from the Port Arthur LNG project under development in Texas.

“The HOA also provides PGNiG the opportunity in 2022 to reallocate volumes from the Cameron LNG Phase 2 project to the Port Arthur LNG project,” explained Sempra.

Sempra's Cameron LNG Phase 2 expansion will be in the form of a single LNG Train with a production capacity of around 6.75 MTPA of LNG.

The plant will also be subject to a debottlenecking process to increase the efficiency and output of the existing three liquefaction Trains.

Sempra has now put the Port Arthur project in Texas back on the fast track route to development.

The proposed Port Arthur LNG plant has all its regulatory permits and will be constructed on a 3,000-acre site in Jefferson County in Texas and with an initial 13.5 MTPA of capacity.

NextDecade Corp., developer of the Rio Grande liquefied natural LNG export project in Texas, has decided not to proceed with another venture called Galveston Bay LNG because part of the project area is under federal law.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted a request by the Golden Pass LNG export project being built on the Sabine-Neches Waterway in Texas by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil to change the ownership status of pipeline assets.

Annova LNG, the medium-scale US project planned for the south bank of the Brownsville Ship Channel in Texas, and whose owners include Chicago-based power company Exelon Corp., has received one of its final permits to begin construction.

Cheniere Energy, the leading US LNG export company through its Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and the Corpus Christi facility in Texas, is on its way to becoming a world-scale producer, behind only Australia and Qatar, with the approval by US regulators of its Texan expansion venture using mid-scale liquefaction and taking total overall output for Cheniere to 52 MTPA.

US LNG projects are facing stiffer opposition in the Rio Grande Valley as a state permit decision for the Texas LNG export project, one of three being developed near the Port of Brownsville, will have to wait at least another five months to progress.

Commissioners with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality sent Texas LNG’s state permit application to the State Office of Administrative Hearings as a contested case based on a request from the City of Port Isabel.

Texas LNG is seeking permission from state and federal regulators to build a liquefaction plant In Cameron County along the Brownsville Ship Channel with initial capacity to export 4 million tonnes per annum.

The case is being followed closely by the “Houston Chronical” newspaper, which noted in a report that the project now faces tough opposition from “a coalition of neighboring communities, fishermen, shrimpers, environmentalists and Native Americans.”

The commissioners ruled that while Texas LNG is located outside Port Isabel's city limits, it falls within its extra territorial jurisdiction as it is part of the Brownsville metropolitan area.

Texas LNG Chief Operating Officer Langtry Meyer said the Houston-based company remains confident that it will receive a state environment permit.

“Texas LNG is committed to operating our project in an environmentally responsible manner, including using electric motors to minimize air emissions," said Meyer.

“By delivering clean, safe, low-cost Texas natural gas energy to our customers around the world, Texas LNG can contribute to a cleaner global environment.” he added.

The Texas LNG project is one of three being developed around Brownsville along with the Rio Grande LNG project of NextDecade Corp. and the Annova LNG venture, backed by Chicago-based utility company Exelon.

Texas LNG’s scope includes the building of two liquefaction Trains and support facilities as well as two LNG storage tanks, each of around 210,000 cubic metres capacity.

The LNG carrier berthing dock will be capable of receiving vessels with capacities of between 130,000 cubic metres and 180,000 cubic metres.

Meyer has said he was looking forward to allowing construction to begin and LNG production to commence by 2024.

“This project will bring jobs and investment to Cameron County and deliver clean, safe, abundant Texas natural gas energy to the world,” Meyer added in an earlier statement.

A final investment decision for Texas LNG is scheduled to be taken in the months ahead and is contingent on factors such as completing the required commercial agreements and obtaining financing.

Samsung Engineering of South Korea will provide all technical and engineering services for the project and is expected to take a minority stake.

The newspaper report noted that although multiple parties, communities and groups had requested “affected persons status” for Texas LNG's state permit application, Port Isabel was the only party in the state to receive it due to the project's location along State Highway 48.

The Texas environmental  commissioners ordered that the contested case hearing should take place within the next 150 days in the state capital Austin to address health and safety issues and impacts on plants and wildlife.

Port Isabel City Manager Jared Hockema told the “Houston Chronicle” that city officials are preparing for the hearing and plan to travel to Austin to testify against the project.

“We are gratified that the Commission recognized the clear impact that the proposed project will have on Port Isabel,” added Hockema.

“The city will continue to fight to protect our environment, our economy and our way of life from being destroyed by these LNG facilities,” the paper cited him as saying.