QatarEnergy's empty 174,000m³ Al Qaiyyah LNG carrier arrived at the 18.1mn t/yr (2.4bn ft³/d) Golden Pass LNG terminal in Texas today to load the facility's first export cargo, Vortexa data show.
The vessel arrived around noon ET after holding off the Texas coast since 30 March, the same day the terminal began producing LNG. The ship idled offshore Houston before moving toward the Sabine-Neches Waterway, the site of Golden Pass LNG, on 19 April. It is not yet clear when the vessel will depart Golden Pass with the cargo or where it will go.
Market participants have been awaiting the ramp-up of Golden Pass following the loss of around 1.6mn t/week of LNG from the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz since the end of February.
The project is a joint venture between QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil. The 174,000³ HL Sea Eagle, an ExxonMobil-controlled carrier, is holding offshore the Texas coast, Vortexa data show.
Golden Pass is the ninth large-scale LNG export terminal operating in the US and the seventh on the Gulf coast.
