Freeport LNG requests Train 4 in-service date extension

Freeport LNG Development LP has requested a 26-month extension from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to place its 5.1-million tonne/year (tpy) Train 4 in service. The request was made well in advance of the already established May 17, 2026, deadline, Freeport having recognized that the project’s 48-56 month construction timeline would prevent meeting that date.

The company also noted that its inability to meet the 2026 deadline was impeding efforts to structure project financing and reach a final investment decision. The requested new deadline is Aug. 1, 2028, with Freeport LNG asking that FERC grant the extension by Sept. 15, 2022.

Construction of Train 4 has not yet begun, due in large part to delays stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Freeport LNG said. As these effects have waned, however, and LNG demand picked up, the company says it has begun actively marketing Train 4 capacity to potential off-takers, particularly in European markets, and is in negotiations with “several” potential customers.

Freeport LNG had originally selected KBR Inc. for Train 4’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) after conducting a year-long competitive bidding and bid evaluation process.  KBR’s decision to exit the LNG EPC business, however, has forced Freeport LNG to begin a new EPC bidding process, which it did earlier this month. The company expects to receive firm price and schedule proposals for the Train 4 project in early fourth-quarter 2022 and make a final award shortly thereafter.

Train 3 began commercial operation in May 2020, bringing the plant's total capacity to 15.3 million tpy. Train 4’s original in-service deadline was May 17, 2023, but in September 2020 it received the extension to May 2026.

Freeport LNG is on Quintana Island, Tex.