Freeport LNG advances plans for fourth liquefaction train

Freeport LNG Development LP (FLNG) and its wholly owned subsidiary FLNG Liquefaction 4 LLC have filed a formal application with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authorization to site, construct, and operate a fourth liquefaction train at its LNG export facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Tex.

FLNG also is commencing front-end engineering and design for Train 4, which has a nominal production capacity of 5.1 million tonnes/year. FLNG anticipates being ready to start construction of Train 4 by yearend 2018, with operations beginning as early as 2022.

The initial three liquefaction trains at Freeport are under construction and scheduled to begin operations sequentially between fourth-quarter 2018 and third-quarter 2019. Each train has a capacity of at least 5 million tpy.

About 13.4 million tpy of the production capacity from the first three trains has been contracted under use-or-pay liquefaction tolling agreements with Osaka Gas Co. Ltd., Jera Energy America LLC, BP Energy Co., Toshiba Corp., and SK E&S LNG LLC.

FERC in August 2015 issued a notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment for the Train 4 expansion project.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Smith controls the general partner of FLNG, whose limited partnership interests are ultimately held by Smith, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Osaka Gas.