El Paso Pipeline Partners LP, Houston, has announced that Shell US Gas & Power LLC, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary, has given notice to Elba Liquefaction Co. LLC to move ahead on Phase 2 of the jointly owned natural gas liquefaction project at Southern LNG Co.’s Elba Island LNG terminal, near Savannah, Ga.
El Paso’s Southern Liquefaction Co. owns 51% of Elba Liquefaction Co.
Phase 2 will add 70-140 MMcfd (0.5-1.0 million tonnes/year) of capacity at an estimated $500 million at the maximum volume of 140 MMcfd, said the announcement.
The planned six trains of Phase 1 will provide about 210 MMcfd of export capacity at start-up in late 2016 or early 2017 (OGJ Online, Aug. 16, 2013). Phase 2 will add two trains and start up in 2017-2018. If the maximum volume for Phase 2 is elected, said the announcement, the Elba liquefaction project will have total capacity of about 350 MMcfd (2.5 million tpy) of LNG.
The liquefaction project will cost about $1.5 billion, according to Kimberly S. Watson, president of natural gas pipelines east region for Kinder Morgan.
The project was initially announced in early 2013 and will use Shell’s small-scale liquefaction units, which will be integrated with the existing Elba Island terminal and, said the announcement, enable rapid construction when compared with traditional large-scale plants (OGJ Online, Jan. 28, 2013).
The project remains under review by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
