Tellurian requests 3-year extension to complete Driftwood LNG plant

Tellurian Inc. has requested a 3-year extension from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to put its 27.6-million tonne/year (tpy) Driftwood LNG plant on the Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles, La., in service. The company said it has demonstrated that good cause exists to grant the extension because it had made good faith efforts to meet the original deadline and encountered “entirely unforeseeable circumstances” related to the COVID-19 pandemic which “inhibited progress in commercializing the project, [and] are now abating.”

Driftwood LNG LLC said it is actively engaged in securing final commitments for both offtake agreements and project financing but needs regulatory certainty that it will have sufficient time to build the project and place it in service in order to close such agreements. It now seeks to begin operations of both the plant and accompanying 2.4-bcfd Driftwood natural gas pipeline by Apr. 18, 2029.

Plant construction activities to date include site preparation, excavation and backfill, dewatering and filling of the man-made lake, construction of water wells and road widening, the driving of 11,800 piles, installation of a security gate, berm activities, formwork and rebar installation, and pouring concrete for the compressor foundations. Driftwood LNG has also installed about 7,000 piles for LNG Storage Tanks 1 and 2 and plans to begin mobilizing equipment to dredge the Pioneer Dock and the marine offloading facility at the site.

Last month Tellurian and Baker Hughes Inc. agreed for Baker Hughes to supply the eight main refrigerant compression packages for 11-million tpy Phase 1 of the LNG plant. The packages will consist of eight LM6000PF+ gas turbines, main refrigerant compressors, and control units (OGJ Online, Sept. 6, 2023).

Driftwood Pipeline has secured the property on which to build the 90,000-hp Gillis compressor station in Jefferson Davis Parish, La., approved as part of the pipeline project. The station will use three gas-fired turbines and be expandable to 150,000-hp has subsequent phases of the plant are developed. Driftwood anticipates that the pipeline will start commissioning and begin to be placed in service 30-34 months after the LNG plant begins process equipment installation.

Driftwood asked FERC to grant the request for extension by Nov. 16, 2023, to “help expedite the timely conclusion of ongoing commercial and financial discussions” with potential partners. The company says it so far has invested more than $1 billion in the project.